


Not Only You

by seasonofthegeek



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Fluff, alternate dimension au, beautiful ninette, past adrinette, past djwifi - Freeform, time flux
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2019-06-01 02:24:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 31,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15133031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seasonofthegeek/pseuds/seasonofthegeek
Summary: Ladybug and Carapace are pulled into a portal when trying to cleanse a trapped akuma and have to try to make a life while waiting on their loved ones to bring them back home.Created for Ninette Week 2018 :)





	1. Chapter 1

Ladybug knew something had gone wrong as soon as the akuma was in her yoyo. 

The battle had been surprisingly easy, Rena Rouge confusing the akuma with a simple illusion while Queen Bee grabbed the designer scarf from around the man’s neck, ripping it to free the akuma. Chat Noir and Carapace had stayed back, quipping about letting the strong women take care of business. Compared to what Hawkmoth had been sending out recently, this akuma was child’s play. 

Or so it seemed.

There was a tugging sensation and suddenly everything around Ladybug was slipping away with a loud ripping sound. She heard Chat Noir scream her name as her earrings burned red hot and then a strong hand was grabbing her wrist before everything went dark.  
______________________________

Marinette took in a shuddering breath and it hurt. She coughed and a sharp stinging sensation flashed through her lungs.

“Easy, Miss, easy,” a gentle voice said. “You’ve had quite the trip. You’re safe now, don’t you worry.”

She forced her eyes open to see an older man leaning over her. “Who…”

“My name’s Gerald,” he answered with a sympathetic expression. “We found you and your friend in a field over near Peachtree. We’ve had a few others turn up there so I’m guessing you came through a portal.”

“Portal…” Marinette looked past the man. She was in a bed in a dimly lit room and there was an insistent beeping noise. A heart monitor, she realized a few seconds later. Some kind of medical set up then? She was still in her street clothes.

“You need more rest, Miss. I promise you’re safe here. Get some sleep and we’ll have you a nice meal when you wake up.”

Marinette squeezed her eyes shut as fatigue settled around her again. “Adrien,” she whispered.

“Is that your friend’s name? We’re taking good care of him too, don’t you worry at all.” 

Gerald’s voice faded away as sleep rushed in.  
______________________________

“Well, aren’t you looking better?” Gerald grinned, standing by Marinette’s bedside only a few minutes after she had woken. Filtered sunlight streamed through open blinds as she struggled to sit up. “It’s a wonder what a little sleep can do. Why don’t we get you something to eat, hmm?”

Marinette swallowed thickly, her throat dry. “Where am I?”

“Bausave,” he answered, “though I doubt that will mean much if you’re like the others.”

She tried to make sense of the name for a moment before giving up. “I need to see Adrien.”

He smiled. “Of course. I’m sure he’ll want to see you too. Do you think you can get out of the bed on your own?” He held his arm out stiffly as if waiting on her to need it for support but Marinette stood on shaky legs. “I thought you seemed like a strong one,” he nodded. “That door on the left is the bathroom. Get freshened up if you like. There should be anything you need in there, including some fresh scrubs. You can come on out into the hall whenever you’re ready.”

“Thank you,” Marinette said quietly. She waited until the man was out of the room before she stiffly made her way to the bathroom.

The bathroom was small but efficient. There was a plastic wrapped toothbrush and fresh travel size tube of toothpaste on the sink and a stack of towels and hospital scrubs set on top of the toilet lid. She ripped open the toothbrush as she ran her tongue along her teeth. They felt overly gross. How long had she been asleep?

Marinette caught her reflection in the mirror above the sink and froze. Her earlobes were scarlet, the spots where her Miraculous had been now angry patches of burnt skin with streaks of dried blood. Tears pricked her eyes as she stared at them. “Tikki?” She looked around the room. “Tikki?!”

She stepped back out into the room and searched wildly but the kwami was nowhere to be found. Why hadn’t she realized Tikki wasn’t with her this whole time?! She wanted to throw open the door and demand to see Adrien but she made herself take a cleansing breath. What was the last thing she remembered?

The akuma. She had captured the akuma in her yoyo and then…

Had Hawkmoth trapped them somehow? The akuma had been easier than usual to take down. Perhaps he had wanted them to take it down because this was the real plan. The others must be so worried.

She remembered Chat Noir screaming her name. If she had fallen through some sort of portal, he must’ve followed after her. She couldn’t deny her relief at the thought. Their families and friends would be worried but at least they had each other. They always had each other.

With fresh resolve, Marinette went back into the bathroom to get cleaned up. She would find Adrien and get something to eat and then they would figure out how to get home.  
______________________________

“Marinette.”

Seeing Nino standing where she expected Adrien confused her and Marinette froze in place just inside the doorway. He was wearing scrubs like she was, a bright blue color that stood out against the beige walls of the small dining room. The lens of his glasses was cracked on the right side, and there was wrapped tape keeping the bridge in one piece. Her eyes traveled to his wrist where she saw blistered skin where his Miraculous used to rest.

“I see you found Adrien,” Gerald smiled, moving past her to bring in a plate of sandwiches and setting them on the table. “I’ll be back with some beverages and then we can talk.” 

“You thought Adrien was here,” Nino winced. “Sorry. I was wondering why he called me Adrien but I…” He rubbed at his wrist and grimaced, dropping his hand in pain. “What happened to us?”

Marinette forced herself to move into the room and sit down at one of the small tables. Nino crossed the room to sit on the other side. “I don’t know,” she murmured, keeping her voice low. “I think maybe it was the akuma? Something felt off as soon as it was in my yoyo.”

He nodded. “As soon as you got it, this dark portal thing ripped open and you starting flying towards it. I was closest so I tried to grab you, but…” He trailed off, looking down at his wrist again. 

“This was more powerful than anything Hawkmoth’s ever been able to do.”

“I’m guessing he had help of the magical variety.”

Marinette looked towards the doorway. “What are we going to do, Nino?”

A look of resolve settled on his face. “We’ll get home,” he promised. 

“Ah, here we are.” Gerald reappeared and set a couple of bottles of water and cans of soda on the table. “Take your pick. We have plenty,” he offered good-naturedly. “Now, I’m guessing you two have questions and I’ll answer ‘em the best I can. I’ll tell you the main stuff first.”

“The city you’re in is called Bausave. Never met anyone who wasn’t from around here that recognizes the name. A few folks run this place. We help people get on their feet after a bad time in life. Sometimes that includes strangers that appear in different places around here with no memory of how they got here,” he continued. “Like you two.”

“You’re saying we aren’t the first ones to come through a portal,” Marinette clarified.

“That’s right. We’ve had about…” He trailed off and counted under his breath. “I’d say around eleven or so besides you in the past twenty years. The first one was a doozy, let me tell ya. We didn’t expect him at all,” he chuckled. “Folks still say he was like an angel coming to visit.”

“And how do people get back to where they came from?” Nino asked.

Gerald’s face clouded over, his expression shifting closer to pity. “Sorry to say, but as far as I can tell, they don’t. Not that I’ve seen anyway. I’ll get you the contacts of ones willing to talk about it. Might help.”

“We’re different,” Marinette replied sharply and then dropped her gaze. “I mean, we have friends that will be trying to get us back.”

The older man nodded. “I wish the best for you then. I can’t imagine how hard it would be. That’s why we’re here to help.” He pushed the platter of sandwiches closer to them. “You both seem to be in good health, at least. Looks like you suffered some burns through the portal so you may scar. Not much we can do about that but our nurse will be in later so she can take a look.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope. “We’ll provide housing and a stipend for you to get on your feet here. Maybe your friends will be the first ones to be able to bring somebody back, but until then, you’re going to need a place to stay and food on the table.”

He frowned. “I always forget to bring that blasted laptop in here with me when I do this and we’ll need it to set up housing. You two eat up and I’ll be right back.”

Nino grabbed one of the sandwiches and took a big bite and then another. Marinette watched him as she messed with the cap on her bottle of water. “Not hungry?” he finally asked with a loud swallowing sound.

She blinked and felt tears prick her eyes. 

“Aww, Mari.” Nino rounded the table to join her side and put an arm around her shoulders. “Come on, you know Adrien isn’t going to let you stay here. He’s probably already paid off seven wizards to create a new portal to bring you back. I bet he even bought a special costume for it.”

Marinette couldn’t stop the bubble of quick laughter at the image of Adrien in a tall pointed wizard hat. “I know,” she whispered.

“And Alya is the smartest person I’ve ever known. She’ll figure something out.”

“Yeah, she definitely will,” Marinette nodded. “And Chloe couldn’t dare let us get more publicity than her. She’ll demand we be brought back so she can go through a portal herself.”

Nino grinned. “Sounds right.” He pulled the plate closer. “How about you eat a little something? You have to be hungry. I know I am.”

They each grabbed a sandwich and ate quietly. 

“So we’re just going to…to make a life here until somehow we get pulled back?” Marinette asked. “I mean, we can’t just go sit in a field and wait, I guess, but what if they open the portal and can’t find us?”

“Yeah, doesn’t feel practical to wait in one place. It probably will take them a little time to figure things out. Maybe we can get settled and make a plan to check where we turned up everyday. Somehow leave them a message.”

“It makes sense to take the help.” Marinette slid the envelope closer and peered inside. “Looks like this is a sort of halfway house organization. They provide housing and small financial help for a hundred and sixty days and we’re expected to find a job and other housing arrangements in that time.”

“Seems fair enough.”

Marinette nodded, chewing thoughtfully. “Do you think we can trust this guy? What if this is all part of whatever it is Hawkmoth did?”

“I was wondering that,” Nino admitted, “but Gerald’s been nothing but nice. And it almost feels clinically nice, if that makes sense. Like he’s used to having people in and out of here without making a real connection.”

“You’re saying you think this really is some sort of halfway house and not a scheme.”

“I think so.” Nino reached for a can of soda and popped it open. He took a long sip and grimaced slightly as he set it down. “Okay, well, their soda is definitely sweeter.”

Marinette eyed it for a moment before sliding it closer and testing it. It was definitely sweeter and lacked the harshness she was used to. She took another sip and licked her lips.

Nino gave her a small smile. “I’m guessing you like it.”

“It’s good,” she shrugged. “I like sweet.”

“That doesn’t surprise me actually.”

Gerald returned then and set up his laptop at the other end of the table. “We have a few different locations but I suppose since you’re brand new here, you won’t have a preference. Now, do you two need separate residences or would you like to live together?”

Marinette and Nino exchanged surprised looks. “Uh, do you have two places close to each other?” Nino asked, gauging Marinette’s reaction. 

“Let me see.” Gerald made a few keystrokes and squinted at his screen. “We have two residences within a block or so of each other. Would that work?”

“That would be really nice, thank you.” Marinette took a long pull from her water bottle and realized how thirsty she was. She finished off half of it before setting it back on the table.

“You’ll stay here tonight again but I’ll send the cleaning crew out to make sure both places are ready for you to transfer to tomorrow. They aren’t much, mind you, but they’ll be clean and a warm place to rest your head until you find something better. There are lots of nice places in town that I’m sure you’ll be able to get something you’ll be happy with. In the morning, a job scout will talk with you to find out about skills you have to best match you with employment.”

“Thank you. This is all very generous.”

He nodded. “I’m happy to be able to do it. A place like this helped my mother and me and my brothers and sisters when my dad took off when I was just a wee thing. I feel like this is my way to pay it forward,” he smiled. “Take the rest of the day to rest or explore, if you like. There are a few others here in the facility who will be transferring soon and town is only a ten minute walk away if you want to get out and peek around.” He gestured to the envelope. “There’s a stipend in there for the each of you so feel free to go ahead and start using it. You’ll get one every Friday until your term end. I just need you two to sign some papers for me and then you’ll be good to go.”

Nino watched Marinette read over the contract and pause towards the bottom. “What is it?” he asked quietly, noticing Gerald had busied himself on his laptop in an attempt to give them privacy.

“What if we’re here for longer than a hundred and sixty days?” she whispered, eyes a little wide.

“We won’t be.”

“Yeah, but—“

Nino took the pen from her and signed his name. “Then we’ll figure it out together.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Marinette: I can’t sleep**

Nino rolled onto his back and held his new phone over his chest. He and Marinette had agreed to enroll in a mobile service plan together with their first paychecks from their new jobs so they had an easier way to communicate than making the trip down the block each time they wanted to talk. 

**Nino: Something happen or just not tired?**

He watched the typing bubbles come up and then disappear again. Something else then. After a few moments they reappeared and were quickly followed by a message.

**Marinette: Homesick, I think**

He and Marinette landed in Bausave thirty-nine days ago. Gerald had helped them get set up in tiny studio apartments in what appeared to be the lower class part of town from what Nino could gather. Marinette had been hired at a grocery store bakery and he found work at a small family-owned restaurant. 

**Nino: Do you want me to come over?**

He frowned at the screen. Maybe he shouldn’t have sent that. It wasn’t that he wasn’t willing to go over if she needed him to because he had a few times now but…

He turned on his side and reached for his old phone on his nightstand, dropping the new one in its place. It was little more than a brick as far as functionality was concerned in this dimension but he’d had his charger in his backpack, which made the trip through the portal when they lost their transformations so at least he could keep it powered. He pulled up his photos and scrolled through the pictures of Alya. He missed her. He missed her voice and her laugh and the way she made everything around her come to life just through the sheer force of her personality.

Falling in love with Alya had been easy and wonderful and amazing. She pushed him to grow as a person and become better. And in the late hour in the darkness of his room, Nino let himself admit that he might not ever see her again, the small admission a tight ball in his stomach. It had been over a month now and there was no indication that they were going home.

Marinette adamantly demanded they talk to all of the others who had come through the portal before them. She and Nino spent the first few days of their new lives going from place to place and gathering testimonials. They went to the field they were found in and left letters for Alya and Adrien, keeping them anchored in a pile of rocks so the wind couldn’t claim them. He’d watched the hope and determination in Marinette’s eyes drain little by little as each person told them the same thing.

There was no way back.

There were other places to travel in this dimension, a whole world beyond Bausave but even the ones who had left for a while came back, claiming the city felt the most like home. Maybe it was the portal or maybe it wasn’t. There was no way to know.

Nino had no doubt that Alya and Adrien would work on a way to bring them back. He thought of the engagement ring Adrien had been so proud to show him only a few days before the akuma battle. He wanted help planning a big engagement scavenger hunt and inviting their friends to be a part of it. It was just the kind of thing Marinette would’ve loved. It all felt so long ago now.

He scrolled to a picture of him and Alya and remembered that Trixx and Wayzz were there too even though they didn’t appear on the screen. He wondered if somehow Wayzz was still back home with Alya. Maybe he would be able to help her figure out what happened. He hoped he was still there. Nino rubbed at the scarred skin of his wrist. It was too depressing to think of other possibilities.

He came to a picture of their group together. Nino had one arm around Alya’s waist and the other across Marinette’s shoulders with Adrien on her other side. It was from years before, brought over from his old phone and dumped into the newer photo album. They were all so young. He wasn’t sure Marinette and Adrien had even been dating at that point. Probably not if the blush across her cheeks was any indication. It hadn’t been long before that then that he was the one blushing because of her.

Nino quickly banished that train of thought before it had time to gain any traction. Those feelings were from years ago; they didn’t mean anything now. Alya and Adrien would find a way to bring them back home. They just needed to be patient.

He jumped a little when his other phone buzzed against the nightstand. He switched them out again and squinted against the brighter screen.

 **Marinette: Can I come over there?**  
______________________________

There was a crisp bite to the air and Nino wondered if the season was beginning to change. In Paris, it would’ve been hot for at least another month but as the night breeze brushed against the bare skin of his arms, he realized that might not be the case here. He caught sight of Marinette a few steps from her building. She was hugging herself as she walked and her expression didn’t change when she saw him.

“Getting cooler,” he said in greeting, falling into step beside her to finish the short trek to his apartment. “Almost feels like fall.”

“You didn’t need to meet me. It’s a short walk.”

Nino shrugged. “I don’t like the thought of you being out here this late by yourself.”

Marinette nodded thoughtfully. “Thank you then.”

He ducked his head and held the door to his building open for her.

“And you’re right, I think it is getting cooler.” Marinette waited for him to come inside and followed him up the stairs. “I guess we need to think of buying a jacket and some long sleeve shirts since we’re not sure how long it’ll be until we go home.”

“Yeah.”

“The bus runs to the mall on Wednesdays, I think. Maybe we could go then?”

“I think I have to work.” Nino unlocked his apartment door and they went inside.

“Oh, okay.”

“But, uh, I could see if Steven is willing to switch days with me if you’ve already got Wednesday off. It’d be nice to have a day at the mall,” he added quickly, unable to take the disappointment she was trying so hard to keep out of her tone.

Marinette gave him a tentative smile. “Sure, if it isn’t too much trouble.”

“For you, Mari? Of course not,” he grinned, flopping down on his secondhand couch and grabbing the remote. “What should we watch tonight?”

She took the other end of the couch. “Let’s see if that cooking show is on where they have to wear ridiculous costumes. I couldn’t stop laughing during the western one.”

“Ridiculous cooking show it is.” Nino flipped through channels until he found the right one. “You know, I think I might actually like this more. Back home, there are way too many channels. You always know what you’re going to find here.”

“I’m sure it gets old after a while.” Marinette curled up and rested her head on the arm of the couch. “But maybe not.”

“You never know.”

They sat in silence for almost an hour as the small television played before them and the night wore on. 

“Did you know they don’t have strawberries here?” Marinette asked, voice soft. “I was working on an order and mentioned that strawberries would be a nice addition to the cake and Daphne had no idea what a strawberry is. They just don’t exist here.”

“That’s really weird.”

“I know. I really miss strawberries.”

Nino didn’t feel the need to tell her that strawberries weren’t really what she missed. He really missed strawberries too.  
______________________________

“I should go,” Marinette yawned. She rubbed at her eyes and Nino saw black smudges under them when she lowered her hands. It was inexplicably adorable.

“Just take my bed,” he suggested. “The sun will be up soon anyway. Sleep for a few hours and then you can go home.”

“It’s not a long walk,” she argued tiredly but didn’t move towards the door.

“Stop being stubborn.” Nino’s words were clipped by his own yawn and he ushered her to his bed. “We stayed up too late.”

“Stupid cooking show with its captivating gimmicks,” Marinette muttered, looking at his rumpled sheets. “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” he nodded, already shuffling to the couch. “Night, Marinette.”

“Morning, Nino,” she replied, crawling into his sheets and promptly falling asleep.  
______________________________

Marinette was gone when Nino woke up to his phone alarm. He grimaced as he stretched. The couch was too short for him to sleep on and his neck and back would pay the price today. 

A note was scrawled on the back of a take-out menu on his counter.

_Thanks for letting me stay last night. It really helped. I hope you have a great day. Let me know about Wednesday. I’ll run by the field to check the letters today before work._

_\- Marinette_

_PS: You need a notepad so I don’t have to find a menu to write on every time._

_PSS: I just realized I could’ve texted you instead of searching for something to write on for like 10 minutes and now I feel dumb._

Nino grinned and made his way to the shower, feeling lighter than he had since they’d arrived. He turned on the radio and hummed along to the song that was already becoming a familiar part of his routine. He stared at his reflection and the stubble that was coming in along his jaw. Pursing his lips, he lathered up shaving cream and worked on cleaning up the edges, leaving most of the stubble in place. He’d never let his facial hair grow before but this seemed as good a time as any to start.

With a spring in his step, Nino dressed and left his apartment, humming under his breath as he made his way down the street to work.   
______________________________

Marinette couldn’t squash the nervous feeling as she walked down the street towards Nino’s restaurant with a small box in tow. She was on her break and only had fifteen more minutes to get back behind the counter of the bakery so she really needed to hurry. There was nothing wrong with bringing Nino a piece of cake to thank him for being a good friend through everything. It was a perfectly fine gesture. There was no reason to feel guilty about it.

She shifted the small box and briefly contemplated turning around and going back to the bakery. A roll of thunder rumbled above her and she began to hurry towards the restaurant. If it was going to rain on Nino’s walk home, he definitely deserved the slice of double chocolate cake she’d made for him. 

Marinette ducked into the restaurant and felt eyes on her. The community was small enough that she was beginning to get used to hearing the murmured voices in her presence. People seemed nice enough about it at least, even though some were hesitant to make contact. She spotted Nino cleaning a table towards the back and quickly made her way to him.

“Hi.”

Nino looked up in a surprise, a genuine smile spreading across his lips. “Hi. What’s going on?”

She held out the box. “Thank you for last night,” she said, keeping her voice low. “It’s double chocolate. It has more of a rich taste than sweet so I think you’ll really like it.”

He took the box carefully from her hands. “You didn’t need to do this. You know I’m just as happy you’re here with me.”

Marinette wasn’t sure how to respond so she just nodded and glanced back toward the door, catching the eyes of several diners watching their exchange. “I need to get back to work but I just wanted to drop that off.”

“Thanks, I really appreciate it, Mari.”

“Sure,” she replied awkwardly. “Well, um, I’ll see you later, okay?” She stepped back and started towards the door, tripping over a table leg and flailing for a moment before she righted herself again. She squeezed her eyes shut, face dark red, and waved again before hurrying out of the restaurant. 

“She’s cute,” Steven grinned on his way to the kitchen. “Is she single?”

Nino watched Marinette rush past the windows and couldn’t identify the feeling in his chest. “Not even a little bit, dude.”


	3. Chapter 3

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” Marinette sighed. She’d fallen into the habit of talking to herself often when no one else was around. Sometimes it made her feel like Tikki was still with her.

She stared down at the letter from Gerald on her counter. She only had ten days left to find her own housing. “We were never supposed to be here this long.” She hugged herself. “We’re not going home, are we?”

No one answered her. The tiny studio was quiet except for the small heater working in the corner. There were murmurs of sound from the tenants on either side of her and heavy footsteps above her. She swallowed hard and waited for the tears to come but they didn’t. Maybe she’d finally used them all up over the last five months.  
______________________________

Nino immediately knew Marinette had received her nicely worded eviction letter as well the moment he saw her crossing the street towards the bus stop. Her shoulders sagged as she walked and he suspected the darkness under her eyes was from more than a lack of sleep. He nodded in greeting and saw the grateful flash of her eyes as they boarded the bus without words. The ride was short and then they were making the mile walk to the field they’d appeared in.

“I think this will be my last visit for a while,” Marinette finally said as they stepped into the high grass. She pulled a thick envelope out of her jacket pocket and held it in gloved hands. “I, um, I wrote to Adrien and told him goodbye.”

“Marinette,” Nino winced.

She waved the envelope and sniffled. “Not just him. I wrote one to my parents and to Alya and Chloe too. I mean, I know they aren’t going to get them or anything but I felt like I should at least…” She trailed off. “Anyway, I thought you should know. You can keep coming back if you want to obviously but I think I need to take a break.”

Nino nodded as they neared the pile of rocks stuffed with letters. Tattered paper peeked out at all angles. “I didn’t want to say anything before but my goodbye letters are already there.”

Marinette stared at the pile. “When?”

“Not too long. Maybe a month ago?”

“You didn’t have to keep coming here with me.”

“Yeah, I did.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes as he spoke. “I wanted to be here for you if you needed me, but I just couldn’t keep hanging on. It’s not like I’ve given up, I just…I think it was time to move on.”

“I feel like I’m betraying them, but it’s been so long.”

“And on the other hand, it hasn’t,” Nino sighed. “I know what you mean. On paper, it doesn’t feel long enough but living this life everyday…”

“Yeah,” she nodded with a small sniffle. A sharp wind cut through the field and they both shivered. “I’ll be fast.” She knelt down by the rocks and wedged her letters in as she’d done a hundred times before. She ran her gloved fingers along the edges of all the hopeful letters she’d written. “Goodbye,” she whispered.  
______________________________

“Have you thought about what part of town you’re going to look for a new place?” Nino asked hesitantly, testing the waters.

Marinette looked away from the bus window and frowned. “I’m not sure. I haven’t really been saving money the way I should have been.” The unspoken thought that she hadn’t expected them to still be here lingered on the air.

“There are some nice two bedroom places on the west side. I’ve been looking at a few online. I was thinking of dropping by one today if you want to go with me.”

“I don’t think I can afford a two bedroom but I didn’t have any other plans today so that sounds nice. We could get some lunch after?”

“Sure.”

“Maybe I can talk to Gerald about letting me stay in my place for another month or so. If I take on some extra shifts at the bakery, I would probably have enough for the first and last month rent somewhere.” Her cheeks went red. “I feel really foolish for not saving more but I thought…”

Nino reached over and squeezed her hand. “I know. It’ll all work out.”  
______________________________

“What do you think?” Nino examined the fireplace against the far wall. “This thing will definitely come in handy. I’ve been sleeping under a mountain of blankets the last week or so and it’s only going to get colder from what I’ve heard.”

“The brickwork is really pretty,” Marinette commented, crossing the hardwood floors and trying not to think of how cold her studio had been getting. “This is a step up, for sure.”

“I’ve gotten used to everything being in one room,” he chuckled. “The walls look weird.”

“It’s still a pretty open floor plan though, just the bedrooms and bathrooms not visible from here. What are you going to put in the other bedroom? You mentioned wanting to start getting some music equipment again.”

Nino scratched the back of his neck. “I was actually wanting to see if maybe you wanted to take the second bedroom.”

“What?”

“Well, that’s why I was looking at two bedroom places to begin with. If I move out here and you’re still in the studio, we won’t see each other as much. I’ve been looking for a new job that would be closer than the restaurant. There might be some better opportunities around here for you too.”

“You want me to move in with you?”

Nino swallowed, feeling his face warm. “Uh, I mean, you don’t need to feel pressured or anything. We spend a few nights a week at one of our places and I just thought that maybe…but no pressure though. If you don’t want to, it’s totally okay.”

“I can pay half of everything,” she promised.

“Okay, that works.”

“And we can figure out cleaning and cooking and all. This isn’t a handout, okay? I do have some money saved up, just not enough for my own place but I could swing this.”

“It’s no problem, Mari. Whatever you can do is fine. We’re going to need to get furniture since this place isn’t furnished like the studios were so we’ll just figure things out together.”

“Right, okay.” 

Nino could see her mentally calculating costs in her head. He closed the distance between them and put his arm around her shoulder. “Why don’t we go down to the office and fill out the application? I can put the deposit down today if they end up accepting us.”

“This is all happening really fast.”

“Well, we can wait but we have less than two weeks to get settled in somewhere else.”

“I know.” She pasted a smile on her face. “Okay, let’s do this.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”  
______________________________

While there were constantly more reasons being added of why Marinette enjoyed living with Nino, music was quickly moving to the top of the list. Nino played music as they ate breakfast, usually something mellow but with enough beat that it kept her moving. He liked to coordinate music while they cooked dinner together, choosing different genres for different meals. Her favorite time though was late at night when they went into their separate bedrooms. 

Marinette moved her mattress against their shared wall so she could hear the soft music filtering in from his room. It was always something peaceful at night without fail and she began to think of it as her own personal lullaby. She was tempted to mention it but was afraid it would make Nino feel self-conscious and she didn’t want to lose the music. She’d slept better in their new apartment than she had since they’d arrived in Bausave and she believed the music had a lot to do with that.

Of course, without Nino there wouldn’t be any music.

She couldn’t deny that she was developing romantic feelings for him; she had been for a while now even if she hadn’t been willing to admit it. There was still the small part of her that mourned the loss of Adrien but it was beginning to feel like another life, as if everything before Bausave had been some long dream and now she was in reality.

Marinette rolled over, the mattress creaking as she did. She’d bought a secondhand one, claiming she would get something better after she was able to pay Nino back for furnishing the rest of the apartment. He’d tried to buy her a new bedframe and mattress and they’d gotten into an argument in the middle of the store and hadn’t spoken for almost three hours afterwards. She knew he didn’t have much more money than her and didn’t want him spending it on her. He’d yet to buy some of the equipment she knew he wanted, putting it off to buy more things they could both use. It was infuriating. 

The more she thought about it, the more agitated she became. Nino deserved that mixing board he’d drooled over in the pawnshop. He should own the red guitar he geeked out over for ten minutes before blushing and making an excuse for them to leave the music store. He could’ve had all those things if he wasn’t being so stubborn about taking care of her. 

Marinette got out of bed and stomped out of her room and across the hall. She knocked on the door once and pushed it open. Nino blinked at her with wide eyes from where he sat on his bed with an old laptop in his lap, music playing quietly.

“You deserve nice things,” she huffed, crossing her arms.

“I…what?”

“Stop spending money on me,” she demanded. “My new job is better and I can take care of myself.”

Nino’s mouth worked for a few moments without words and then he nodded. “Oh…okay.”

“Get yourself a better laptop and speakers and that soundboard and guitar and whatever else makes you happy,” she continued, “and turn up the music so I can go to sleep.”

“You mean turn down the music?”

“No, up,” she demanded, spinning on her heel and slamming the door.   
______________________________

“So about last night,” Nino began, taking the eggs out the refrigerator.

Marinette blushed but kept her chin held high. “What about it?”

“Is everything okay?”

“Not if you keep spending money on me.”

Nino frowned. “I don’t understand.”

She set her bowl on the counter a little more forcefully than she meant to and turned to him. “I want you to be happy.”

“I am happy,” he replied slowly, his face a mask of confusion.

“Yeah, but you could be happier.” She watched his expression go blank.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“You love music and you’ve been putting off getting music stuff to get stuff for me and I hate that.”

“I haven’t been putting anything off,” he shrugged and pulled a pan out from the oven drawer. “I’ll get more equipment as I can. There’s no hurry.”

“What if I asked for money to get a bedframe?”

“How much do you need?”

Marinette threw her hands up. “That’s what I’m talking about, Nino! You would just hand over your money, wouldn’t you?”

“Money’s not that important to me. If you need it, why wouldn’t I give it to you?” He shook his head. “Adrien bought you stuff all the time.”

“That was…” Heavy silence settled between them. 

“Different?” Nino finally asked without turning to look at her. 

“Yes,” she said softly. 

“Okay.”

Marinette could sense something had shifted between them but wasn’t sure what it was. “It’s not that I’m not grateful, Nino, it’s just that—“

“I’m not Adrien. I get it.” He wiped his hands on a dishrag and dropped it on the counter. “I’m not actually hungry this morning so I think I’m just going to go get showered for work.”

She watched him walk towards the hall and could feel more than just literal space opening between them. “Wait, Nino, please.”

He paused at his bedroom door, his hand on the knob. “What?”

Marinette followed him, quickly closing the distance. “I know you aren’t Adrien. I don’t want you to be Adrien. I just want you to be you.”

“Well, I want to be able to do nice things for you, Marinette. That’s me. I’m not trying to be Adrien. I know I can’t replace him for you. I don’t want to.”

“And I don’t want to replace Alya,” she said softly.

Nino inhaled sharply and dared a quick glance at her. 

Marinette’s cheeks were a dark pink but she met his eyes. “It’s not only me, is it, feeling this way?”

He shook his head. “It’s not only you.”


	4. Chapter 4

“I’m not sure where we go from here,” Marinette admitted. She was tempted to flee to her room and plead temporary insanity but she forced herself to stay by Nino’s side in front of his bedroom door.

“Nothing has to change,” he said carefully.

“You don’t want it to?”

“That’s not what I said.”

“What if we mess this up? You’re the only person I really care about here.” Marinette frowned as the reality of the situation hit her. “If we try to have…a relationship and it doesn’t go well, we’re still roommates. We’re still stuck together. That wouldn’t be good.”

Nino tried to keep his expression neutral. “You think we should just stay friends.”

“I know it feels like a long shot at this point, but I could never do that to Alya either,” Marinette continued. “She loves you so much.”

“I love her too,” he nodded. “But…”

“But?”

His shoulders sagged. “I don’t know. I guess I should be saying the same thing about Adrien.”

“But you aren’t.”

Nino met her eyes. “No, I’m not because honestly, Marinette, I don’t think we’re ever leaving here, okay? I think we’re stuck. Forever. We’re never going to see Alya and Adrien again. We’re not ever going to see our parents or my little brother or our friends. We don’t even know if they’re okay! How do we know that us falling through the portal wasn’t some kind of salvation? And that eats at me, the not knowing.” He took in a deep breath and seemed to deflate. “You’re the only hope I have now and I’m sorry.”

Marinette stepped back. “I don’t know what to say to that.”

“I have to get ready for work.” He turned the doorknob and moved into his room. Without looking back at her, he added. “Sorry I made things awkward. We don’t have to talk about it anymore.” The door closed and Marinette was left standing in the hallway, unable to move away but not willing to follow him.  
______________________________

“I’m such a liar,” Marinette murmured to herself as she made the walk to the familiar field. The bus rumbled off in the background and she knew she was effectively stuck there alone for at least an hour until it rounded back again. A light sprinkling of rain had begun and thought it wasn’t hard, she was sure she would be drenched by the time she made it back to the apartment. That didn’t matter much though. 

The walk to the field seemed longer than usual, maybe because Nino wasn’t by her side. He didn’t like her coming out by herself but Marinette didn’t mind. No one else was ever out here; he was just overprotective. She finally made it through the wooden gate and knelt down in front of the pile of rocks and abandoned letters. The ground already felt wet, the coolness seeping into the knees of her jeans.

“I thought I said goodbye in my letter but maybe I wasn’t done yet,” she said, voice quiet. “I miss you so much, Adrien. It hurts how much I miss you. I miss your smile and your laugh and your eyes and your voice. I miss the way you say my name and the way I can still make you blush after all these years. You were all I ever wanted and now…” She wiped at her eyes and found tears. She wasn’t out of them yet after all.

“I’ve been trying not to think about everyone and everything else I miss because it’s too much, Chaton.” Her shoulders shook as she hunched over the rocks. “I feel like there is this huge chasm ripping open and I’ve got a foot on both sides, trying to hold it together and I’m so tired.” She dropped her head. “Is acceptance giving up? We were never supposed to be here this long. Nino and I started building this life together here and that terrifies me because it feels like we’re on the edge of becoming so much more and I don’t know what to do with these feelings.”

She stayed quiet for a while, pulling at wet pieces of grass. “Nino was right. It’s the not knowing that is the worst. I don’t know if you’re okay, if anyone is. Did Hawkmoth have a bigger plan or was this all some kind of fluke?” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Have you given up on me yet? Do you even think I’m still alive somewhere?” A sob wracked her body and she rested her forehead against one of the rough rocks. “Is it cheating if I’m a ghost?” she whispered.

She dropped to her side, curling around the pile of rocks and tattered letters as the rain grew harder. She cried until her head pounded and her throat was like sandpaper and then everything felt clear but she was too exhausted to drag herself back to the bus stop quite yet. She would catch the next one.   
______________________________

“I’ve got you, Mari. I’ve got you.”

Marinette blinked groggily. Everything around her was dark and a cold that had sunken into her bones physically shook her. She curled towards the warmth she felt on her right side, burying her face against soaked cotton. She was moving but her body felt wrong. She wasn’t using her feet. Were they up in the air?

“You’re okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“Nino?” Was that audible? She’d heard her say his name in her head but wasn’t sure the sound had made it past her lips. Was Nino carrying her?

“The bus should be back soon and then we’ll get home and get you warmed up.” 

Marinette felt firm hands rub along her arms and tried to curl more towards the warmth.

“Damn it, you had me so scared,” Nino swore, crushing her against his chest. “Don’t you dare do this to me again. I think I aged a decade looking for you.”

She tried to force out an apology but found she couldn’t press the words past the chattering of her teeth. Everything shifted and Nino was swearing again as he stumbled, almost dropping her. The jolting sensation sent pain shooting along her skin and she groaned.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “Sorry, I’ll get us there.”

Coldness hit her face and Marinette realized it was still raining. Shivers shook her body and she felt Nino’s hold on her tighten before sleep took her again.  
______________________________

“I need you to sit up and drink this. It tastes awful,” Nino warned, helping a drowsy Marinette into a sitting position and holding a mug to her lips. She grimaced after a tentative sip but he didn’t pull the mug away. “Drink, Marinette. This will help. It’s a healing tea Wayzz taught me to make. Believe me, I know it tastes like crap but it actually does the job.”

He nodded in satisfaction once Marinette had drained half the cup and set it down beside them. He wrapped his arms around her so her back was pressed against his chest as they sat in front of the fire.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean…”

“It’ll be okay.” Nino held the mug up again. “Drink the rest and then you’re going to take a warm bath.”

Marinette braced herself and drained the tea as quickly as she could without gagging. Warmth began to spread out from her chest in a feeling that reminded her of the Cure she could call up after akumas and she relaxed against Nino. She realized with a start that the thick blanket draped over her was touching far too much of her skin and she stiffened. “Did you undress me?”

“Your clothes were soaked,” he answered, voice a little gruff. “Your teeth were chattering so hard I thought you were going to bite your tongue. I didn’t…I just took off your shirt and pants and wrapped you in the blanket while I got the fire going and made the tea.” He pulled away from her back as much as he could, arms dropping. “I probably should’ve taken you to the hospital but I was too scared to think of anything but getting you back home.”

The way he said “home” made Marinette’s heart ache. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“What were you doing out there, Mari? You said you needed a break from that.”

“I know. I thought I did.”

“It was because of earlier, wasn’t it?” he asked and Marinette felt him shift away again. “You don’t have to worry about me. Nothing needs to change between us. There’s no reason to run away or…or…” He trailed off, unable to form the rest of his thought coherently. 

“What do you think happened to our Miraculous?”

Nino was too surprised by the sudden topic change to move away when Marinette scooted back against him. “I don’t know. My hope is that they just couldn’t be pulled through the portal and Wayzz and Tikki are with the others now.”

“That’s what I hope too,” she nodded, reaching out of the blanket to grasp his hand where it lay on the floor beside them. Marinette brought it around her so his arm formed a half hug and she traced her fingertips along the slick scarred skin of his wrist. “I miss them so much.”

He swallowed thickly, mesmerized by her motions. “I do too. I never thought I would get used to having Wayzz around me all the time and now I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to not having him.”

Silence settled between them, the crackling of the fire the only sound in their apartment. Marinette held Nino’s arm captive and he finally wrapped the other one around her once more. “Did the tea help?” he asked and his voice was almost too quiet.

“It really did. Wayzz was a good teacher. Was it magic?”

“I don’t think I can do magic here,” he sighed. “But it was more of an old world remedy anyway. I’m just glad I actually had all the ingredients needed in Bausave. I bought them as soon as we moved in.”

“Because you knew I’d do something dumb like exhaust myself from crying in the field?” Marinette flushed.

“Because I wanted to be able to take care of you in case something happened,” Nino corrected.

“I really said goodbye this time.”

Nino stayed silent behind her.

“I can’t promise that I still won’t be upset sometimes. I’m sure things will remind me of him, of them, that I won’t be able to help.”

“I understand that. I’ll probably be the same way.”

“Um, and if this is…if I’m just convenient for right now because of our past, I can’t do this.” Marinette closed her eyes and took in a shaky breath. “I know Adrien wouldn’t want me moping around if he had any say in it, but if I move on, I have to know that it’s for something real.”

Nino was quiet for a few moments before he spoke. “This may make me sound like an asshole, but I had a crush on your before anything ever happened between me and Alya. I love her so much, but Marinette, something with you would absolutely be real for me. Please don’t doubt that.”

She slowly turned in his arms, being careful to keep the blanket covering her. Nino had an almost nervous expression on his face, his eyes a little too wide. “I’m sorry for making you worry.”

He gave her a small smile. “You should be. I stopped by the shop to apologize for earlier and your manager said you never showed up for your shift and your phone was still here. I was beside myself. I was afraid…”

Realization dawned and Marinette winced. “You were afraid somehow I got taken back and you got left behind? I’m so sorry.”

“I don’t think I breathed again until I saw you laying in the field. And that started a whole new set of fears.”

She reached out of the blanket again and cupped his face. “Thank you for taking care of me, Nino.”

He closed his eyes and tilted his head to rest his cheek against her palm. “Thank you for letting me.”


	5. Chapter 5

“There’s a Spring Fling event at the zoo this weekend. Wanna check it out?” Marinette leaned back against Nino’s chest as she scrolled through the local news app. 

“It would be nice to do something outside now that it’s starting to warm up a little. I wasn’t sure winter here would ever end.” Nino wrapped the ends of her hair around his finger and curled it up until he ran out of hair and released it all only to start again.

“I know,” she sighed contentedly and let her head fall back, lightly knocking his chin and feeling him kiss the top of her head. It had been two months since the night in the field, since their decision to let go of the past, and these casual yet intimate touches were what they allowed themselves. They still hadn’t labeled it officially, content in simply being able to take close comfort in each other.

“Your hair has gotten so much longer,” Nino commented, tugging on it playfully.

Marinette laughed and reached up and behind her to pull on the soft curls covering Nino’s head. “You’re one to talk.”

“I’m thinking about cutting it.”

“Really? I love the curls.”

Nino flushed and pulled her hand away from his hair, pressing a kiss to the inside of her wrist before releasing it. “Then maybe I can keep them a little longer. How do you feel about earrings?”

Marinette turned in his arms, expression flat. “What?”

“Oh, shit,” he winced, wide eyes going to her scarred earlobes. “Sorry, that was a dumb way to say it. I meant for me, uh, like up here.” He pinched the top of his ear. 

She tilted her head, studying him. “Actually, I think that would look kinda sexy.”

Nino felt his face heat. “Yeah?”

“Mmhmm.”

He licked his lips as his gaze fell to hers. They’d kissed exactly once and Marinette spent an hour afterwards crying so Nino hadn’t had the guts to try again. She didn’t seem to mind the small kisses on her head and hands and cheeks so Nino tried to keep himself content with being allowed those but sometimes…

Marinette blinked, eyes a little too wide, and pulled back, making a show of standing and stretching. “I’m supposed to do dinner with Katie tonight so I should go get ready.”

“Oh, right, I remember you saying that.”

“Do you have any plans?”

“I might work on some tracks I’ve been fiddling with. Maybe I’ll order in a pizza or something.”

“That sounds like a nice night.” Marinette shifted her weight. “Um, I’m just going to…” She leaned down and quickly pressed her lips to his, popping back up so fast that she lost her balance and stumbled backwards. “Okay, bye!” she yelled shrilly, hurrying to her bedroom and slamming the door.

Nino touched his mouth, feeling a stupid grin spread across his lips. “Bye.”  
______________________________

“They have red pandas! I love red pandas!” Marinette pulled Nino through the crowd to get to the exhibit. She went up on the tips of her toes to see over the line already in front of the habitat and squeezed his hand. “They’re so cute, oh my goodness.”

He grinned. “Want me to put you up on my shoulders, shorty?”

“I will stomp on your foot,” she warned.

Nino laughed and stood behind her as they patiently waited for the people in front of them to move along. “Do you want to loop back to the concession stand after this? I could use something to drink.”

“Sure,” she nodded. “I’m kinda bummed about giraffes not existing here anyway. I used to love seeing the giraffes at the zoo back home.”

“This place can be so weird.”

“I know.”

An opening appeared and Marinette hurried into it, tugging Nino along so that he was flush against her back. He wrapped his arms around her middle, letting his clasped hands hang in front of them as he rested his chin on her head. “Are these red pandas cute enough for you?”

“They’re even cuter than I hoped,” she smiled, covering his hands with hers. “We should get one and take it home with us.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not allowed,” he chuckled, kissing the top of her head. 

“Come on, steal me a red panda,” she teased. 

“Stealing is bad,” a little voice condoned.

The couple looked down to see a young girl staring up at them. 

Marinette put on an apologetic expression. “You’re right. I’m very sorry,” she said, trying not to smile. The little girl nodded solemnly and then returned her attention to the exhibit. Marinette grinned up at Nino and nodded her head towards the next exhibit.

“It won’t be a red panda, but we could actually adopt a pet if you want,” Nino offered as they made their way to the snack bar. “The animal shelter is close to the studio. I might have peeked in once or twice on a lunch break.”

“I’ve never had a pet before, well, unless Tikki counted.”

“We could get a dog or a cat.”

Marinette frowned. “Maybe not a cat.”

“Right, probably not a cat,” Nino amended with a small wince. “Sorry.”

“You don’t need to be. It’s just that Adrien always talked about us getting a cat when we…” She trailed off and they continued in silence for a little while. “Maybe we could get a turtle.”

Nino laughed, feeling relief wash through him. “I could deal with a turtle. I used to have an aquarium that Wayzz could hang out in when we were home. He tried to act all above it when I first bought it but within a week, he was swimming around and hanging out on the rock. I even got him this little plastic mermaid that sat at the bottom so he would have a girlfriend.”

“You miss him a lot, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Marinette nodded and took in a deep breath, pushing on. “Did he and Trixx get along?”

Nino met her eyes in acknowledgment. “For the most part. Trixx got a little too excited for him sometimes but he learned how to relax every once in the while.”

“Tikki and Plagg were always going at each other but then I would find them all curled up together and sleeping. It was cute.”

“I have a theory,” Nino began, “that I’ll tell you as soon as we get something to eat.”

“Tease,” Marinette huffed good-naturedly.

They each ordered something from the cashier and waited by the small window for their food as families moved around the zoo. 

“Okay,” Nino said as he set his plastic koala cup on the picnic table. “So I think our Miraculous and kwamis are still back home.”

“I’m guessing you have a reason.”

He nodded. “They couldn’t come over because kwamis don’t exist here.”

Marinette pondered that for a moment. “I did look up any signs of heroes but only found vigilante types. No one with actual powers.”

“Right. Maybe that’s why they were so violently ripped away when we got pulled through.”

“I suppose that makes sense.”

“Maybe the same thing would’ve happened if someone tried to bring over a giraffe or strawberries or—“

“Rubbing alcohol.”

Nino blinked. “Really?”

Marinette shrugged. “I looked for it at the drugstore for a craft project and they didn’t carry it. The guy kept trying to point me to the wine aisle.”

“This place doesn’t make any sense.”

“There are some perks though. I’m kinda obsessed with their take on milk chocolate.”

“I’m still having trouble with the gray milk thing.”

“It tastes the same,” Marinette grinned.

“I’m aware of that but still.”

“Dork.”

“It makes sense though, doesn’t it, my theory?”

Marinette nodded. “I like it. I’m sure the others are taking care of them.”

“And they’re taking care of the others,” Nino added.

“Yeah.”

Nino took a long pull from the green bendy straw. “So you kissed me the other day,” he said, trying to sound casual.

Marinette choked on the chip she was chewing and grabbed for her lion cup. Nino watched her scramble, trying not to smile. “Rude,” she gasped.

“I only wanted to say I liked it,” he smiled, feeling a blush spread across his cheeks as he moved his nachos around. 

“It was so awkward,” Marinette groaned.

“Yeah, it definitely was.”

“Nino!”

He grinned. “You almost face planted right there in the living room. It was like we were in high school again.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Well, I hope you enjoyed it because it won’t ever happen again now.”

“Aww, don’t be like that.”

Marinette lifted her chin. “Nope.”

Nino stood and leaned across the picnic table so he could put his face close to hers. “Never?” he asked, voice low.

She swallowed hard, eyes darting to the side. “People are watching.”

Without dropping his smile, he settled back into place. “Okay.”

“I’m going to pretend like you didn’t just try to be sexy at the zoo and we’re going to sit here and finish our nachos.”

“You thought it was sexy, huh?”

“I should definitely break up with you,” she shot back and then snapped her mouth shut.

“Now who’s being sexy?”

Marinette blushed and ducked her head. “Stop it,” she giggled. “You’re being ridiculous.”

Nino reached across the table and covered her hand with his and they finished their nachos in a pleased silence.  
______________________________

Marinette knocked lightly on Nino’s bedroom doorframe. “Can I sleep in here?”

“I told you that you never have to ask,” he smiled, shifting to the side so she could crawl into the bed with him as she had most nights over the past month.

She curled up and snuggled into his side as he leaned against the headboard with his laptop in his lap, soft music flowing from the speakers. “I was actually asking…” She rolled her lip under her teeth. “Can I sleep in here every night?” She looked up at him. “You can say no, obviously, but—“

“Yes.”

Marinette tried to hold back a beaming smile. “Because you’re my boyfriend and I like…what’s that look for?”

“You’ve never called me your boyfriend before,” he grinned. “It’s making me feel very happy.”

“I’m glad. You make me really happy.” She kissed the side of his chest and then pressed her cheek against it. “Thank you for being patient with me.”

“That’s not something you need to thank me for.” Nino slid his arm around her. “You’re worth the wait.”


	6. Chapter 6

“How dare you, girl?!”

Marinette froze at the door, her keys still wedged into the lock as Alya’s laughter floated down the hall. 

“She didn’t mean it, Alya. Obviously you’re the fox’s socks.” Adrien’s voice interjected, full of humor.

Marinette heard herself chime in. “Is that Rena’s version of the bee’s knees?” She followed the voices down the hall to her old bedroom. Nino was sitting at his desk, watching a video on the new computer monitor he’d gotten. 

He turned in the desk chair, wiping at his red eyes. “Hey,” he said hoarsely, reaching back to pause the video.

“Hey.” She crossed the room and stood by his chair. He pulled her down onto his lap and hugged her tight. 

“I was hooking everything up and wanted to test it with video so I pulled one over from my phone.” He cleared his throat. “I didn’t realize it would affect me so much today.”

“This is when you got that new phone that was almost as big as a tablet, isn’t it? You were recording everything for like a week.”

He chuckled softly, holding her close. “Yeah, Alya hid it for a few day when I wouldn’t stop.”

The screen was paused on Adrien’s face caught in a half-smile. “It’s going to be a year next Thursday.”

“Do you want to do something?”

“Like what?”

“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “Maybe we could go out to dinner? Turn it into a celebration of getting to have them in our lives even for a little while?”

“Because if we stay here, we might end up having a rough night,” Marinette nodded, catching his drift.

“Maybe.”

“I think dinner out would be nice. Maybe we can come back and watch more videos.”

“We can see how we’re feeling.”

Marinette kissed the top of his head. “Okay.”  
______________________________

Nino brandished a forkful of salad. “To be fair, Adrien really was a great wingman at the zoo that day. He was determined to get us together.”

Marinette laughed. “Alya was so mad at me when I said I would set you guys up.”

“And then you locked us in a cage for hours.”

“Hey, Otis proved to be a difficult akuma.” She picked up her glass of wine and took a sip. “It’s all a little crazy to think about, isn’t it? If something had happened between us that day, our lives would’ve been completely different.”

“Yeah, and now you could be sitting here with Adrien instead of me.” Nino frowned as he finished speaking. “Sorry, that sounded better before it actually came out.”

“We don’t have to pretend like we haven’t thought about it,” she replied carefully, chasing a crouton with her fork. “I’m sure you wished I was Alya before.”

“Yeah, I won’t deny that.”

“And yeah, I hoped Adrien was the one who came through with me.” Marinette’s brows furrowed as her appetite dwindled. “It would’ve been easier in some ways.”

“True.”

“But I would’ve never know what it’s like to be with you if he had and sometimes I don’t know what to do with that feeling because what he and I had meant everything to me, but what you and I have also means everything to me.”

“I don’t think they have to be exclusive. That’s a really good way to describe it actually. I don’t think of our relationship as better or worse than what I had with Alya. It’s just different and I think that’s okay.”

Marinette nodded and played with her salad. “Do you wonder if they maybe found comfort in each other like we did?”

“Yeah, I love and hate the thought of it.”

She smiled. “I’m glad it’s not just me then.”

“Did you know Adrien called me after your first kiss?”

“He did?”

Nino grinned and nodded, sitting back in his chair. “He babbled for like ten minutes straight until I gathered what had happened.”

“That was the night we told each other who we were too. Big night.”

“Yeah.”

“Alya totally held out on me with your first kiss. She didn’t tell me for like a week!”

“That sounds like her.”

“She said she was still feeling out the waters,” Marinette rolled her eyes. “As if she wasn’t completely smitten with you.

“I think we’re all dorks.”

“I think you’re right.”  
______________________________

“I can’t do the videos.” Marinette stood in the bathroom doorway with her pajamas tucked in her arm. “I kept thinking I could if I waited a little later into the night but I don’t have it in me.”

“That’s okay, Mari. Is it going to bother you if I do?” Nino asked, dropping his shirt in the hamper. “I can keep the volume low and close the door.”

“Of course not. Do whatever you need to. I’ll be here when you get done.” She sent him a fond smile and slipped into the bathroom. 

Tears began to fill her eyes as she stared at her reflection so she made herself concentrate on undressing. Dinner had been delicious and it felt good to be honest about things with Nino. She didn’t want to hide her feelings from him but she felt like she needed to mourn in peace for a few moments. She’d accepted their new life, even grown to love parts of it, especially the Nino parts, but it was still hard. There was no reason to pretend it wasn’t.

She carefully washed the makeup from her face. She wiped a toner on her skin and enjoyed the light sting. She brushed her teeth and remembered the way Adrien would try to get her to talk to him when she was foaming at the mouth with toothpaste. She finished her nightly ritual and sat down in the corner of the bathroom on the fluffy gray mat and cried.   
______________________________

“Are you okay?” Nino asked softly when Marinette finally crawled into bed.

“I am,” she nodded, immediately curling into his side. “Are you?”

“Yeah.” He kissed her forehead. “I think we needed that.”

“Mmhmm.”

“To be honest, I could only get through one of the videos. Everything felt fresh again tonight.”

“I think tomorrow will be easier.”

“The start of Year Two.”

Marinette wrapped her arm around his middle and snuggled closer. “It’s bizarre to think about, isn’t it? We’ve been here so long now.”

“It hurts my head to think about sometimes.”

“Mine too.”

“We never celebrated our birthdays.”

Marinette blinked in surprise. “I…I didn’t even realize.”

“That was the video I watched, Alya’s not-actually-a-surprise surprise party. I remember being so sure we had pulled one over on her.”

“We were delusional,” Marinette smiled. “So our goal this year should be to celebrate at least four days.”

“Which days?”

“Well, we need to make up for our birthdays obviously so that’s two.”

“Okay.”

“And then this day to remember everyone we had to leave behind.”

“Right.”

“And then the day we decided to be enough for each other,” she added shyly, pressing a kiss to his chest.

There was a pause and then Marinette heard Nino’s heartbeat speed up against her ear.

“I love you,” he said, voice rushed. “Sorry that was sudden. I’ve been wanting to say it and it’s okay if—“

“I love you too.”  
______________________________

“Okay, Mari, we’re agreeing on one small dog, right?” Nino squeezed her hand as they neared the animal shelter entrance.

“Yeah, one small dog. That’s really all we have room for in the apartment,” she nodded.

“So no matter what else we see in there, no matter how many animals need homes, we’re just looking for one small dog.”

“You know, I am actually an adult who can make wise decisions,” she rebutted, quirking an eyebrow.

“I’m not doubting your usual wisdom, sweetheart, but I’ve seen you around enough animals to know that lovely wisdom usually takes a break when there is a lot of fluffy cuteness around.”

“Rude.”

He grinned and raised their joined hands to his lips for a quick kiss before opening the door for her.  
______________________________

“Okay, I know what we agreed on, but hear me out,” Marinette began.

“One small dog,” Nino reminded her.

“But when we’re both at work, he might get lonely.” Marinette cuddled the tan puppy close to her chest.

“This little guy is actually already adopted,” a volunteer said gently. “He’s just waiting on his surgery. We don’t have any available puppies right now.”

“Oh,” Marinette frowned. “What about grown dogs?”

“Sure, follow me.” He took the puppy from her and set it back in the pen and waved a hand. Marinette glanced back toward Nino and they set off after the shelter volunteer. As soon as the door opened, dogs began to bark and jump for attention. “Just let me know if you guys need any help.”

Marinette and Nino slowly made their way down the line of kennels. “These are all a little bigger than I was thinking.”

“Yeah, I was wanting to start smaller for our first pet. Get our feet wet first? I feel kinda guilty now though.”

“I know what you mean. All of these sweet puppers need homes too.”

“How’s it going, guys?”

Nino turned to the volunteer. “I’m not sure any of these are the right fit for us unfortunately.”

Marinette made a small helpless noise, looking back at the kennels.

“Are you guys only interested in dogs? If it is an issue of space, cats do really well in apartments.”

“No, I don’t think—“

“Can we see the cats?” Marinette asked, biting her lip. 

Nino turned to her. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. “We can at least look.”

“Cats or kittens?” the volunteer asked.

“Cats, I think,” Marinette answered, falling into step behind him.   
______________________________

“This can’t be real.”

Nino and Marinette stared at the black cat with bright green eyes and he stared right back at them. 

“Are you guy interested in Adrien?” Another volunteer was in the cat room and joined them by the cage. “He’s such a sweetheart. I can get him out if you want.”

Marinette took a hesitant step away from the cage. “I’m not sure.”

“I was about to get him out to play anyway so you guys can watch if you’d like.”

Nino pulled Marinette against his chest as they watched the volunteer open the cage and coax the cat out. He kept his eyes on them but allowed her to pick him up and set him on the floor.

“Let’s see, who should you play with today?” The volunteer walked down the line of cages and poked her fingers into one. “What do you think, Alya? Want some time out?”

“I’m sorry. We have to go,” Marinette said quickly, pulling Nino with her. They didn’t speak until they reached the bus stop. “What was that?” she asked, voice strained.

“Very bad luck, I think,” Nino sighed. “The weirdest luck ever.”

“How is it possible there were two adoptable cats with their names?”

“I think maybe we should hold off on a pet.”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

They at on the bench and waited.

“I wonder if they were friends.”

Nino glanced over at his girlfriend. “What?”

“Well, if the volunteer was getting them out to play together, they’re probably friends, right?”

“I mean, I guess…if cats are friends with each other.”

“What if they don’t get adopted together? What if they get split up and never see each other again?”

“Mari…”

She stood. “We have to go back and get them.”

“Marinette, hang on a second.”

“No, we need to go now, Nino.” She tugged on his arm. “Someone might be trying to split them up. They need us.”

“Listen, I think we need to go home and think this over and—“

“Please,” she begged, voice breaking. “Please, Nino, we need to bring them home with us.”

He let her pull him up and they began the trek back to the shelter. “We don’t have any cat stuff.”

“We don’t have dog stuff either. We’ll buy what we need.”

“Are you sure this isn’t going to be too much for you? It’s weird. You have to admit it’s weird,” he said.

“I know, but…maybe it’s a sign, you know? We can save them here.”

He studied her for a moment as they walked and finally nodded. “Okay.”


	7. Chapter 7

“I think Alya’s mad at me.” Marinette gave up bouncing the bright purple feather and let the toy drop to the floor.

Nino chuckled. “She’s not mad at you. I think she’s still trying to figure out how she feels about being here.” He reached out and the fluffy brown tabby eased forward, sniffing his fingers.

“Sure, but she’s fine with you,” Marinette huffed.

“Adrien likes you.”

“He better.” She scooped the black cat up into her arms and cuddled him close.

“Do you think we should change their names?” Nino leaned back against the wall and Alya sauntered away to go sit at entrance of the kitchen.

“What? Of course not.”

“Marinette.”

“Okay, fine, yes, it’s weird,” she admitted. “Maybe we can call them Chat and Rena?”

“Or Noir and Rouge.” Nino thought about it for moment. “I think I could be okay with those. It’s still weird but not as much.”

“Yeah.”

“Although if we go with Chat, people are going to wonder why our cat is named Chat.”

“Maybe they’ll think we’re quirky.”

“We’re portal people,” he grinned. “I’m pretty sure they already think that.”

“I think I like Noir and Rouge. It matches their coloring for the most part anyway.” Marinette kissed the cat’s head. “Are you my little Noir? Yes, you are. Yes, you are.”

Nino watched her cuddle the cat, smiling and talking softly as he purred in her arms. It definitely made the adoption fees and cat supplies bill worth it.  
______________________________

“I’m so glad you like me now but you still aren’t allowed on the counter,” Marinette tutted, gently nudging Rouge to the floor. “I’m sure Nino doesn’t want kitty hairs in his cupcakes.”

“Is Nino getting cupcakes?” Nino walked into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around Marinette from behind.

She leaned back against him. “I thought you might like some to take for dessert with your dinner since you have to work late tonight.”

“You are the best. You know that, right?” He kissed the top of her head.

“I do actually,” she preened. “Do you really think you’ll be there all night?”

“Dylan told me to plan to be. He liked my idea about purging a lot of the music that is taking up storage space but hasn’t been in rotation in years. We’re going to make sure we have a digital copy of everything and then he wants to dump the rest.”

“And I’m guessing we’re about to have a lot of crates of old music around the apartment,” Marinette teased.

“We can’t just throw it out,” he frowned. “Maybe I can rent a storage unit for it.”

“You’re too cute.” She turned in his arms. “Just put anything you need in the other bedroom.”

“I told you I wasn’t going to take over the whole room. What about your sewing stuff?”

“I mostly work in front of the TV in the living room. I was thinking of moving the machine in the corner by the window anyway.”

“I can do that for you before work.”

She pushed against his chest. “It sounds like you’re going to have plenty to do tonight. Why don’t you go relax for a little bit? I was just about to frost these cupcakes.” Nino eyed the mixing bowl full of frosting and reached for it, but Marinette caught his wrist. “I don’t think so, mister.”

“Just one little finger swipe,” he grinned.

Marinette released a fondly exasperated sigh. “Fine, I guess.”

Nino dipped his finger into the frosting triumphantly and then pressed the dollop against a surprised Marinette’s lips. He leaned in and kissed her, smearing the frosting before he pulled back and licked his own lips. “Mmm, just as sweet as I thought.”

She blushed and licked her lips. “Stop being so smooth.”

“Sorry, babe, it’s in my blood,” he winked.  
______________________________

Rain pounded against the bedroom window and Marinette rolled over in the bed. Nino’s spot was still empty so she sat up and looked around the dark room. Noir was curled up at the foot of the bed and she could see Rouge stretched along the top of the armchair in the corner.

Marinette got out of bed and walked to the window, watching the rain she could see highlighted from the street lamp below. Without giving it too much thought, she slipped into a pair of sneakers and pulled on a light jacket and went down the stairs.

The hour must’ve been late because the building was mostly silent around her as she made her way outside. Rain fell on her but it wasn’t a hard rain. She walked a little down their street to the bench in front of the closed barbershop. She wasn’t sure what it was about rain in this dimension, but there was something comforting about it. She was certain Nino wouldn’t have liked her being out. Although it had been months, her incident in the field was still fresh for him every time she talked about going out when it was raining. He wouldn’t need to know about tonight. It could be for just her.

She sat on the bench until she knew she was drenched down to her skin. She thought about Adrien and how she hoped he was settling into a new life without her. She hoped he was happy. She finally felt like she was.

Marinette thought of Alya. Maybe she and Chloe had grown closer. Maybe they were meeting for lunch and going shopping and Marinette hoped that Alya wasn’t killing herself trying to still find them because she would much rather know her best friend was living a happy life.

She thought about her parents and how upset they must’ve been. She was glad she’d told them about being Ladybug years before. At least they would know why she was gone, even if it didn’t exactly make it any easier. She thought about the bakery and how warm it felt even on the coldest of mornings. She missed them so much.

A sniffle was all the indication she needed to know she should get herself back home. She wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting on the bench but her joints felt stiff as she stood and stretched. It might be morning soon.

Marinette walked back down the block to the building and saw Nino getting off the bus. She picked up her speed and called his name before he made it to the door.

“What in the world are you doing out here?” His eyes, exhausted moments before, turned wide and searching.

“Just remembering,” she replied simply. “I’m done now though. How was your night?”

He gave her an uncertain look. “Long but productive. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Marinette nodded happily and took his hand. “I’m fine, Nino, I promise. Now let’s go up to bed.”

“Or maybe let’s go get you a warm shower,” he amended. “I don’t want you catching a cold.”

“We can do that.”

“We?” he grinned, opening the door for her. 

“What, you thought I would want to alone?” she teased.

“We’ve just never, uh…” Nino pressed the button for the elevator and looked down at the water they had trailed into the lobby.

“I know,” she nodded. “And I don’t think we will tonight either but…but a shower might be nice.”

He hugged her close, letting her soak his clothes. “Yeah, a shower will be nice.”  
______________________________

“This isn’t meant to be pressure at all,” Nino assured her as he held Marinette close to his side in the bed, fingers ghosting along her bare arm, “but when do you think you might be ready for something more?”

She rolled so she could face him. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I was thinking about it in the shower and I thought maybe when we got out here that I would want to but…” She trailed off with a frown. “I don’t think I’m ready yet.”

“That’s fine,” he nodded and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “The shower was still really nice. You’re gorgeous,” he murmured with another kiss.

Marinette flushed. “Thanks. I feel like I’ve gained weight here without being Ladybug.”

“You’re perfect.”

“I’m not but thank you for saying it,” she smiled, tilting her face up for a kiss. “I think I’ll be ready soon though.”

“There’s no rush.”

Marinette bit her lip. “I know just the heavy make-out sessions have been a little bit of a tease.”

“Not a tease,” Nino argued with a light blush, “but, yeah, I won’t be upset when you are wanting more.”

“I’m glad you’re being honest with me.”

“You’re being honest with me. It seems only fair.”

“You do make me feel things. Very, very good things,” she said softly. “Just so you know.”

He grinned. “Very, very good, huh?”

“Exquisite even.”

Nino laughed. “I don’t know if that’s good if we’re already at exquisite. That’s setting the bar pretty dang high for everything that comes after kissing.”

Marinette’s giggle turned into a yawn. “It’s late.”

“I think you mean early,” Nino corrected, nodding to the early morning light filtering in through their window.

She blinked, suddenly exhausted. “Work is going to be hard in a few hours.”

“Get some rest, sweetheart.” Nino squeezed her and then let go, rolling over to give her his back. Marinette cuddled up to him, draping her arm across his hip and kissing him between the shoulder blades.

“Goodnight, love.”  
______________________________

**At the same time in another dimension…**

“Try again,” Chat Noir growled.

Master Fu gave him a sympathetic look. “There’s nothing I can do. Tikki has been called back into the earrings. That could not have happened unless Ladybug—“

“She isn’t dead,” he interrupted. “I can feel it. You need to figure out how to open the portal again so we can pull them back through.”

“Chat Noir, I understand your grief. I will also mourn her, but—“

“Cataclysm!” Chat Noir held his hand up, dark power bubbling. “Try again,” he demanded, voice low. “Now.”

Master Fu looked back at him, eyes only slightly widening.

“Adrien.” Chloe stepped up behind him, placing a tentative hand on his shoulder. “Come on, let’s get some air.”

“No. Not until—“

“Adrien,” Alya cut in. “Let’s go talk.”

He turned back to glare at them both before dropping his hand, Cataclysm easing away unused. “Fine,” he glowered. He followed his friends up to the small garden Fu kept on the roof. “What?”

“They aren’t dead,” Alya said, eyes calculating. “I don’t know why Fu isn’t willing to find them but I know Nino isn’t gone.”

“Maybe he had something to do with it.” Chat Noir’s eyes cut to the roof access door.

“Don’t be absurd,” Chloe huffed but her tone lacked any real conviction.

“I don’t think he caused it but there is definitely something he isn’t tell us. Why wouldn’t he put Nino’s bracelet back on? Did you notice? He placed it back in the box with the earrings.” Alya worried her lip. “I think we need to do some research. Nino has copies of a bunch of Fu’s texts at our place.”

“It’s already been hours since they vanished! We don’t have time to sit around and read old texts.” Chat Noir paced the length of the roof. “Hawkmoth! We have to find Hawkmoth and make him bring them back.”

“Adrien, if you think you’re the only one who wants them back, then you need to fucking check yourself,” Alya growled. “I love Nino and Marinette just as much as you do.”

He deflated, his transformation falling. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”

Alya gave him an assessing look and nodded. “Good. I feel like Nino told me something about Miraculous holders being forced to part with their kwamis, like it was bad luck for the next holder until the Miraculous had been cleansed.”

“So you think that’s why Fu didn’t take the Turtle back up?” Chloe asked.

“Maybe,” Alya nodded. “I want to be sure though. It could be a really long night.”

“I’ll pick up dinner on my way. I need to cancel a date.” Chloe called up her transformation and looked at both of them. “We can get them back.”

“We will,” Alya agreed. They watched her leap away and Alya turned to Adrien. “Look, wherever they are, they’re together, right? They’ll take care of each other.”

Adrien swallowed hard. “Yeah, you’re right. Hopefully later tonight when we get them back, we can all have a good laugh about this.”

“Or a cry,” Alya added with a dry chuckle. 

He called up his transformation once more. “Maybe both.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From here on out, I'll be attempting to tell the story in semi-real time as the years pass for Marinette and Nino and hours/days pass for Adrien and Alya.

**Bausave Dimension**

“I think it’s going to be too big,” Nino grimaced, eyeing the very tall and very full tree Marinette was currently gushing over in the middle of the lot.

“It’ll be perfect! Come on, Nino. We missed the last holiday when we were so sure we were going back home. I really want to celebrate this year.” Marinette hooked her arm through his and fluttered her eyelashes. “Please?”

He laughed. “I’m not saying we can’t celebrate, you vixen. I’m saying maybe we can celebrate with a tree that isn’t going to take up literally our entire living room?” He raised his eyebrows and Marinette sighed in faux defeat. 

“Fine, but you owe me extra Christmas lights around the place then.”

“Don’t you mean extra Winter Star lights?” he teased.

“We can still call it Christmas, right? I mean, it happens in the winter at the end of a month and everything. This dimension isn’t allowed to take Christmas away from me.”

He pulled her to him and kissed the top of her head. “We can call it whatever you want, sweetheart, but this tree is still too big for us.”

She grinned up at him and pulled away, grabbing his hand. “Then I guess we’ll just have to find another perfect tree.”

“And then perfect lights and perfect ornaments and perfect stockings…”

“Good. Then we’re on the same page.”

“You’re going to be the end of me but at least it’ll be a good end,” Nino laughed.  
__________________________

“Noir, I will turn you into a fuzzy mitten if you don’t leave that ornament alone,” Marinette warned, glaring at the black cat. 

He stared back at her with unblinking green eyes and slowly raised one paw as if to bat at the low-hanging ornament before bringing it to his mouth and licking petulantly. 

“That’s what I thought.” 

“You tell him, sweetheart.” Nino clipped the tags off their new stockings. “Nothing but lumps of coal if he’s a bad kitty and all that. Rouge will get all the new balls of yarn instead. It definitely is his fault that he’s a cat and someone who isn’t me hung an ornament so low on the tree.” He turned to Marinette expecting to see her making a face in his direction but her eyes were far away.

“Does all of this make you a little sad?” she asked.

“Christmas without everyone?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Do you think they’re having an okay holiday season?”

“I wonder sometimes. I hope…I hope they were able to move on and be happy like we are.”

“Even though we can’t go back, I wish I knew for sure.” Marinette knelt down to shoo Noir away from the tree and smoothed out the skirt beneath. “I want to know that they’re safe and happy. Everyone, you know? Adrien and Alya and Chloe, my parents, your family, all of our friends, all of Paris really.”

“And it’s selfish, but I wonder if I’m missed,” Nino added. “I mean, I know Alya and Adrien miss me, and my family. But do you ever wonder if there are other people you didn’t realize would miss you?”

She nodded. “The whole wishing you could see who shows up to your funeral type thing.” Her face darkened. “Do you think they had funerals for us?”

“I would think so at this point. At least some kind of service, maybe? It’s been almost two years. I think it’s safe to assume they believe we’re dead.”

“Yeah, I think so too.” Marinette picked at one of the loose beads on the tree skirt as tears stung her eyes. “I wish our letters had gotten through,” she whispered. “Just so they would know.”

Nino dropped the stocking on the counter and went to her, folding down to the floor and pulling her to his chest. “I know. Me too.”

“Every time I think I’m finally good, something makes it all feel fresh again,” she said in apology, wiping away a stray tear. 

“I was a little hesitant about doing a big deal for the holiday this year for that reason but…but maybe it will be good for us. Maybe it’ll get easier with every one we do.” He tucked her hair behind her ear. “And then one day, we can look back on our old lives fondly and without pain.”

“Do you really think that will happen?”

“I hope so.”  
__________________________

**Original Dimension**

“We need sleep,” Adrien groaned, angrily scrubbing at his eyes. “I can’t see straight anymore.”

Chloe let out an unrepentant snore from her place down the table, her cheek pressed against the pages of an ancient book.

“She better not drool on that,” Alya said, voice weary with exhaustion. “You’re right though. We aren’t going to get anything else done until we get some rest. You wanna stay here?”

Adrien nodded and pushed himself up from the chair, stumbling the few steps to the couch to flop down. “A few hours,” he mumbled.

“I’ll set an alarm,” she promised, shaking Chloe awake. “Come on, C. Come get in bed with me.”

Chloe followed Alya into the bedroom half-asleep and Adrien reached back to turn off the light, plunging the room into darkness. “I promise I’m coming for you, Marinette,” he whispered before letting fatigue take him under.  
__________________________

**Bausave Dimension**

“I love it!” Marinette squealed, pulling Nino down into a hug and then a kiss. “It’s perfect.”

He let out a relieved chuckle. “I was thinking it could go either way so I’m happy you like it. Want me to help you put it on?”

She nodded happily and turned her back to him as Nino took the thin silver chain from the jewelry box and brought it around her neck. A jewel-encrusted ladybug charm hung from the chain, swinging slightly as he fumbled with the clasp at the back. 

“This was thoughtful, Nino.” Marinette gently touched the pad of her finger to the charm. “I’ve really missed Ladybug and Tikki.”

“I know.” He leaned forward to press a kiss to the back of her neck where the clasp sat. “I was hoping this would be a nice keepsake for you.”

“It is,” she promised, turning so she could look at him. “And now I want to give you your present. Well, part of your present.”

“We had a money limit, Miss Dupain-Cheng,” he reminded her. “There shouldn’t be more than one part to my present.”

“Well, first of all, Mr. Lahiffe, don’t try to pretend like this necklace was in budget because it couldn’t have possibly been.” She watched him duck his head bashfully. “Besides, this part of your present doesn’t involve money. That would be a whole other issue,” she chuckled nervously. 

Nino saw Marinette’s cheek go dark pink and waited for her to continue. 

“I, um, I’m ready, Nino, if you are,” she said shyly, looking up at him. 

“Ready as in…”

“As in take me back to the bedroom before I die of embarrassment, you goof,” she huffed, eyes twinkling with amusement. “I have fancy underwear on and everything.”

Nino grinned, quickly standing and scooping her up into his arms with a surprised gasp from Marinette. “Only if I get to unwrap my present very, very slowly.”

She shivered but nodded. “It’s a deal.”  
__________________________

“How are you feeling?” he murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as they lie in bed together.

“Like my legs are jelly,” she laughed softly. “Happy, good. You?”

“The best.”

Marinette smiled and curled in closer to his side. “I really love you, Nino.”

“I really love you, Marinette.”

“And I’m really glad we did this. And I want to keep doing it. Maybe everyday.”

He chuckled. “I’m going to need to start working out then. You might wear me out.”

“I like a good challenge,” she teased, reaching up to boop his nose.

Nino rolled to his side slightly, still holding her close to him, so he could look at her. “I’m so glad you’re here with me. I can’t imagine this life without you.”

Marinette felt a brief sting of guilt, but just as quickly as it had come, it was gone. “I’m glad I’m here with you too, love.”  
__________________________

**Original Dimension**

“Over the years, seven different wielders have disappeared through portals like Nino and Mari did and every single account instantly marked them as dead,” Alya accused, dropping an open copy of a Guardian journal onto Fu’s table. “Why didn’t anyone ever try to open the portals and bring them back?!”

Fu pursed his lips, looking down at the photocopied book. “Because as Guardians, we are entrusted with keeping the Miraculous safe and no good can come from opening portals to other dimensions.”

“No good?! No good?! My finance is somewhere out there and you’re refusing to help find her because you’re afraid?!” Adrien stood up angrily. “Marinette has given years of her life keeping this city, no, keeping this world safe because you chose her and now that she needs your help, you want to turn your back?! No way in hell.”

“I wasn’t aware you and Marinette were betrothed.”

Adrien faltered for a moment. “Not officially, but it was happening soon. That doesn’t matter right now. What matters is that you’re being a coward.”

Alya shot him a sympathetic look and continued. “There are other Guardians around the world. Other sets of Miraculous. We’ll find one of them to help us open a portal if you won’t.”

“You’ll need the Ladybug and the Turtle and I can assure you they are one of a kind,” Fu said gently. “We must accept this loss, great as it may be.”

“I don’t accept it.” Alya banged her fist against the table, rattling Fu’s teacup and startling the old man. “I’ve tried to stay calm and rational but the two people I care most about in this world just disappeared into some strange place and the one person that could help is sitting here drinking tea and acting as if he’s powerless.” Tears began to roll down her cheeks. “Please, Master Fu, please, I’m begging you. Please help us open a portal to bring them back.”

They all sat in silence for a few moments before Master Fu finally spoke, voice quiet.

“I swore I would never open a portal again,” he whispered. “I destroyed everything, everyone. I can’t…I won’t…”

Alya collapsed to the floor. “You have to. Please. We can’t abandon them. They would never abandon us.”

“Please, Master Fu.”

Master Fu took in a shaky breath. “It won’t be easy.”

Adrien perked up, leaning forward. “You know how to open it.”

“We’ll need to gather ingredients. It will take some time.”

“Anything,” he nodded, and stood to offer Alya a hand up. “Just tell us what to do.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Bausave Dimension**

“I can’t believe we’re moving again. Why do we keep doing this to ourselves? Where did we get all this stuff?” Nino lifted a small decorative box off the dresser. “Does this even serve a purpose?”

“It’s cute!” Marinette grinned, lifting it from his hand and taking it to her packing box of keepsakes. “And it keeps my bobby pins in one place.”

“One place, huh? So the random metal pin things littering the entire apartment are something else then?”

“Growing out your bangs is hard work! I need them ready at a moment’s notice,” she huffed.

“You’re lucky you’re so cute.”

“So are you,” she shot back with a sickeningly sweet smile and flutter of her eyelashes.

He laughed and continued cleaning off the non-essentials from the dresser. “Are you excited?”

“I am! The new place is a little bigger which is nice, and we’ll have a doorman which is super fancy.”

“You know us, fancy as they come,” he teased.

“And it’s kinda neat that the building is where we came through, right? It feels like it’s meant to be.”

“What once was an empty field will now be an overpriced apartment complex,” Nino nodded. “Full circle. I did stop by the center to ask Gerald what he thought about it, what with the portal spitting people out every so often.”

“What’d he say?”

“That he was retiring and someone else could figure it out,” he laughed. “I guess the likelihood of it happening again anytime soon is pretty low anyway and developers wanted the land.”

“Progress and all that.”

They worked in relative quiet, music softly playing from speaker on Nino’s nightstand. The windows darkened as night fell and eventually Noir and Rouge sauntered into the room to inquire the whereabouts of their dinner.

“I guess we could call it a night on the packing,” Marinette suggested, stretching her arms over her head. “We did get a lot done though. I’m proud of us.”

Nino eyed the skin of her tummy that the movement bared. “Did you have other activities in mind?” he asked, crossing the room and pulling her to him. 

“Hmmm, I know what you have in mind,” she smiled, reaching around to pinch his butt. “We should eat dinner though and feed the cats before they revolt.”

“I can be quick,” he murmured, dipping his lips to her neck.

She laughed but tilted her chin up to give him more access. “Who said I wanted it to be quick?” She ran her palms up his chest, fingertips catching on his shirt. “Maybe I want to take my time with you and this fantastic physique.”

“Marry me,” he teased, kissing up along her throat. Marinette froze in his arms and Nino pulled back, eyes a little wide. “I…it wasn’t…”

“We could.” She rolled her bottom lip under her teeth and looked up at him through her lashes. “We could get married.”

“Marinette, we don’t—“

“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” she said quickly, pulling away from him and turning towards the bed to scoop up Rouge. The cat blinked in sleepy surprise but a steady purr began. “It was silly. Just forget it.”

“Hey, hang on a sec.” He reached for her elbow, pulling her back to him gently. “Look at me.”

She clenched her jaw for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking up. “I don’t know why I said that. Can we please just forget it?”

Nino studied her, moving back only long enough for Rouge to wiggle out her arms with a discontented huff. “I love you.”

“I know you do,” she nodded, not meeting his eyes. “I love you too. Do you want to figure out dinner?”

“I would marry you tomorrow if you wanted,” he said softly.

Marinette swallowed hard. “You don’t have to say that.”

He tilted her chin up with his thumb until she finally looked at him. “It’s been almost five years, Mari. It’s you and me, right?”

She nodded. “You and me,” she whispered.

“Do you want to get married?”

She dropped her eyes again but moved closer to him, winding her arms around his middle and pressing her cheek to his chest. “It’s not like it would change anything between us.”

“That’s not what I asked and you know it.” He poked her side playfully and was relieved to receive a giggle. “Do you, beautiful, amazing, wonderful Marinette Dupain-Cheng, want to marry me, nerdy, lanky, but somehow still ruggedly handsome Nino Lahiffe?” 

“It’s a tempting offer,” she replied, looking up at him with an amused expression. “But we can’t get married tomorrow. You at least have to let me find a pretty dress. And we’ll want our friend to be there.”

“Is that so?” he grinned. “I guess I can wait. That all sounds very important.”

“It is.”

“And I need to find you the best ring ever.”

“You don’t have to get me a ring,” she blushed.

“No girl of mine is going to go trotting around town without a ring if she wants a ring,” he grinned. 

“I trot now?”

He winked and in a swift movement, picked her up. Marinette squeaked and folded her legs around him. “Do you really want to be my wife?” he asked quietly as she rested her forehead against his.

“I really do,” she replied, pressing in for a kiss.  
__________________________

**Original Dimension**

“A week?! But it’s already been nine days!” Adrien paced the length of the room. “Who knows what they’ve been through already.”

“We have everything we need,” Alya said, trying to keep her tone even. “The spell calls for these ingredients to sit together in the bowl for seven sunsets. We have to do it right. Some of this stuff was next to impossible to get. I don’t think Fu has any favors left to call in.”

He flopped down into the armchair. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“We’re going to get them back.”

“I know we are.”

“And in a year or so, I’m not saying we’ll laugh about it, but maybe this won’t seem so scary.”

He eyed her warily. “Speak for yourself.”

She gave him a shadow of a smile, which was all she could bring herself to muster. 

“Do you really think they’re okay?”

“I have to. It’s kinda the only thing that’s keeping me going.”

“I’m sorry I’ve been losing my cool so much,” Adrien said, voice soft. “You’ve been…nice about it. I know you’re missing Nino too.”

“I think you freaking out has been forcing me to be calm so I’m not complaining,” she admitted. “We’re getting so close now though. We have a plan and all the accounts seem pretty reliable.”

“Are you worried about opening up the wrong portal?”

“A little, but I think as long as we open it in the same place, we should be okay. My main concern is it’s been over a week. They could’ve moved to a different location to try to find help and I’m not sure how long we’ll be able to keep the portal open.”

“If we ever find Hawkmoth, I’ll kill…” Adrien trailed off and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the chair. 

“I know,” Alya said, voice quiet but firm. “Me too.”  
__________________________

**Bausave Dimension**

“You’ll be ready in a month?” Nino asked in surprise, looking over the calendar Marinette had spread out on the counter in front of them.

“Yeah, I think so. I’m not planning on this being anything too elaborate if that’s okay with you.” 

“You know I’m down for whatever but it might be a lot with the move too.”

“I thought it would be nice for us to start our new life married in our new place.” She blinked up at him. “Is that silly?”

He gave her a fond look. “It’s perfect. I just want to make sure you aren’t trying to rush it for other reasons.”

“Like what?”

Nino took her hand, rubbing his thumb along the back of it. “It’s okay for us to just be together, Mari. You don’t need to prove anything.”

“Oh.” She took a few moments to gather her thoughts. “I loved Adrien. I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving him actually,” she admitted. “But that feels like another life now. I don’t want to live in the past, not when I have you.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he reassured her.

“I know that.” She smiled up at him. “I’m not either. I just want…I want to commit to this life, to you. Does that make sense?”

“I think so.”

“It isn’t so much about proving anything, but more about…” She trailed off, searching for the right words.

“Accepting the situation?” he offered.

“Kind of, but that almost makes it sound like settling. I promise it doesn’t feel like settling with you.” She reached up to cup his cheek with her free hand and his eyes slid closed as he pressed against her palm. “And I know I’m not Alya. I would never want to try to be Alya to you, just like I don’t think you see yourself taking Adrien’s place for me.”

“It’s just different.”

“But a good different.”

“Definitely.” He pulled her to him for a kiss. “That still doesn’t mean we have to rush anything. I’m happy to do whatever but I don’t want you to have regrets.”

She smiled up at him. “I could never regret you, Nino.”

He flushed, cheeks darkening as he dipped down to kiss her once more. She laughed against his lips and pulled away with a wink, pointing to the last Saturday of the month. “You know that cute little brick building on Pleetra Street? The one beside the bookstore? It’s an event hall! I never realized. So I called and they are temporarily holding this date for us if we want to put down the deposit. We’ve got until Monday to decide. I thought we could go check it out tomorrow on our lunch breaks.”

“That would be cool,” he nodded. “How many people does it hold?”

“A hundred and twenty. That’s way more than we’ll have but it’s a really good price compared to some of the other venues I checked on.”

“That works for me. We can go see it tomorrow and decide.”

She kissed his cheek and moved her finger to the Monday after. “And I was thinking we could go on a small trip for the next week?”

“You want to go on a honeymoon?” he grinned. “Can we find some island getaway where people fan us with big palm leaves?”

“Did we suddenly get rich and you forgot to tell me?” she teased back. “It’s not an island getaway but my boss has a mountain cabin about an hour and a half away that she said she would let us use as a wedding gift.”

Nino’s eyes lit up. “That’s amazing!”

“Right?! She was showing me pictures and I couldn’t get over it. We’ll get to feel like rich people.”

“That’s really sweet. We’ll have to get Lana a thank you gift.” He glanced at the scrawled list of items Marinette had written on the notepad to the side of the calendar. “Is that stuff that still needs to be done?”

“Some of it. Other things are just reminders in case I want to do them.”

He read over the list and tried to think of wedding things. “Do you want to order like a wedding cake or something?” 

Marinette’s pen paused in the middle of a note on the calendar. “I…I haven’t decided.”

Nino frowned and then realized what the issue might be. “It won’t be your parents’.”

“I know it’s silly.”

“It’s not,” he argued. “Who needs tradition anyway? We could have wedding soup or wedding watermelon slices or wedding fish tacos.”

“Wedding fish tacos?”

“Hey, we can have whatever we want.”

She smiled, leaning against him. “Thank you for being you.”

“I wish they could be here too.” He held her tight against him. “Although, I’m going to admit that your dad intimidates me a little bit so the thought of getting a speech from him before the wedding is scary.”

“He’s a teddy bear!”

“You know bears kill people, right?”  
__________________________

Marinette slipped out of the bed, carefully making her way through the maze of boxes in their bedroom and hall. Noir let out a soft meow and padded after her into the living room. 

“You’ve already eaten, you silly thing,” she chastised, reaching down to scratch behind his ears. “But I can’t sleep and the company would be nice.” She settled down on the couch and Noir followed her, curling up at her side with a deep purr. 

She looked around the room. They’d been packing slowly, taking the time to weed out the things they didn’t need or want anymore. They’d really made a life for themselves here, found things they loved and enjoyed. It wasn’t like their lives before but it was warm and comfortable and nice…and theirs. Bookshelves were half empty and boxes were placed haphazardly here and there, Nino’s labeled carefully with the contents and hers filled to the brim with whatever would fit like an exciting mystery. Unpacking would be fun.

It was quiet times like this when she let her mind wander back to their home. She hoped Adrien was living a fulfilling life. He’d been contemplating leaving Gabriel and trying his hand at something else for work. Marinette liked to think that he went through with his plan and was living his best life. Maybe he’d met someone sweet who would take care of him. Someone who would laugh at his jokes and drink the coffee he kept burning and would cuddle with him on the couch even though he turned into a human heater under even the lightest blanket. She ran her hand along Noir’s fur and hoped that Adrien had gotten a cat. He always wanted to adopt a cat even though Plagg was firmly set against it.

It finally didn’t hurt to think about him. She could see his smiling face in her mind and all she felt was happy, happy that she’d had the chance to know him and love him.

There was a shuffling sound and then a curse, followed by the noise of a box tumbling to the floor. Nino had noticed she was gone then. He appeared at the edge of the hall, hair fluffed up on one side and glasses slightly askew. “You okay?” he asked in a gravelly voice.

“I was having trouble sleeping.”

He took a few more steps into the living room. “Need to tal—“ His word was cut off by a jaw-cracking yawn.

Marinette took mercy on her fiancé and stood, meeting him before he could run into another stack of boxes in his half-asleep state. “Come on, love, let’s go to bed.”

He gratefully pulled her to him and they made their way back down the hall to bed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those that are familiar with my Nelix portal story, [Magic and Might](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14896805/chapters/34502036), you might recognize someone in this chapter ;)

**Bausave Dimension**

“This place is so gorgeous.” Marinette inhaled deeply. “It even smells different out here.”

“That’s because we aren’t surrounded by city smog anymore,” Nino teased, moving past her with their last suitcase. “The place really is nice.”

She followed him back inside the cabin. “I know! It was very sweet of Lana to come let us stay for our honeymoon.”

He grinned and pulled her into his arms. “Say that again.”

“Our honeymoon,” she repeated with a happy smile, resting her chin against his chest as she looked up at him. “Our honeymoon that we are now on because we just had our wedding and we’re officially married.”

He laughed. “You know all the right things to say to turn me on.”

Marinette snorted and stepped away. “I was thinking we could unpack our clothes and then drive into town to check things out and pick up some groceries. Lana said there are a few cute shops around. There’s even another portal center here because they’ve had a few people come through.”

“I remember Gerard saying there were some other locations when I asked him about the one near us closing down.” He studied his wife. “You want to go visit?”

She shrugged, trying for nonchalance. “It could be neat to see if there is any difference.” She fiddled with the zipper on her jacket. “And just to check, maybe,” she added in a quiet voice.

“We can do that.”

Their eyes met in silent agreement and Marinette went up on the tips of her toes to kiss her husband.  
__________________________

After watching Nino only move far enough to start on the next row of vinyl to flip through at the small music shop they’d found in their exploration of the town, Marinette tugged on his sleeve. “I’m going to keep looking around, I think. You can call me when you get done.”

Nino flushed and looked at the stack of albums he’d already pulled out. “I can just pay for these and go with you.”

She kissed his cheek. “Keep looking. This is your vacation too. I’ll be fine, promise.” 

“Only if you’re sure…”

“I am,” she smiled.

Marinette stepped out of the shop and looked both ways. They’d come from the left so she would keep going down the right and maybe Nino would be ready to meet up before she crossed the street to look at the shops on that side. There was a bookstore and what might be a flower shop a little beyond where she was standing. It would be nice to have some fresh flowers for the dining room table during their stay. She almost passed the bookstore to go straight to the flower shop but paused at the display of cooking books in the window. It might be a good idea to pick one up and see if there were some new things she could try from this region.

The bookshop was exactly what she thought it would be as she made her way through the cramped spaces between overstuff bookcases. She spotted a worn couch towards the back and Marinette went to it like a beacon. There didn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason to the shelving so perhaps she could find an employee who—

“Marinette?!”

She spun in surprise and came face to face with a blonde man she didn’t recognize. “Um…”

“What are you doing here?” The man looked back toward the door. “Is Adrien with you?”

Marinette felt all the blood drain from her face. “Adrien?”

The man seemed to catch himself and he took a careful step back. “I’m sorry. I think I had you confused for someone else.”

She had a split second temptation to turn and run but she pushed past it. “You know Adrien?” she prodded. “Adrien Agreste?”

Relief colored his expression and he seemed to relax. “Don’t scare me like that. I thought maybe I’d come across another doppelganger.” He took in her confused expression and frowned. “You have no idea who I am, do you?”

“I’m not exactly from around here,” she said in way of apology. “I’m visiting on my honeymoon. My husband…” She looked back towards the door again.

“Your honeymoon… You aren’t her then. I mean, obviously you aren’t her. They’ve been married for years and had a baby on the way when we left. I doubt she’s even had it yet.” He looked her over. “I think you might be a few years younger even.” His brow furrowed. “Unless there’s also a fold of time lap in this dimension. That could explain—“

“What are you…”

His eyes sharpened. “When you said you aren’t from around here, you didn’t just mean the town, did you?”

Marinette moved back to put a bit more space between them and shook her head. “An, uh, another dimension. About five years ago.”

“Oh, wow, five years. We’ve only been here a few months.”

“You’re from another dimension too?” She retook her step with excitement. “Where?”

He tucked his hair behind his ear. “The official name is Dimension Em-Zee-Two-Seven-Oh-Nine for all the good that does. I’ve been trying to find out more but for such a progressive dimension when it comes to accepting new people, they don’t bother with finding out much about outside worlds.”

“You’ve been studying this stuff?”

“With limited resources,” he frowned. “It’s more magic than science at this point but my partner would say that’s all the same anyway. He doesn’t understand the obvious distinction.”

They stood in an awkward silence for a moment before Marinette’s thoughts caught up. “You know Adrien.”

He held up a finger. “I know an Adrien,” he corrected. “There seem to be copies sometimes.”

“Copies?”

“No, not copies. That’s the wrong word. I feel like this place is making me stupider and I hate that. Doppelgangers?” He shook his head in irritation at the chiming bell that signified someone entering the shop. “For example, I could be walking down the street and see…” He trailed off and looked past her with widening eyes.

Marinette turned around and let out a sigh of relief as Nino walked towards her with a full tote bag and a guilty grin. “I may have bought more than a few,” he winced. 

“I’m shocked,” she teased, turning back to the other man. “Nino, this is…” She trailed off. “I’m so sorry. I never even introduced myself. I’m Marinette.” She offered her hand and the man took it but his gaze hardly strayed from Nino. “But wait, you already knew that, didn’t you? Because of the whole doppelganger thing.” 

Nino shifted uneasily and pulled Marinette back to him with a gentle hand on her waist. The man seemed to shake himself after watching the movement. “Sorry,” he murmured. “I think I was a little surprised, that’s all.” His eyes sharpened once more and he offered his hand. “I’m Felix.”

“Nino.”

“I know.”

“Excuse me?”

“You look the same but so different.” Felix leaned forward a little. “Your eyes seem a bit lighter than his, but that could be the overheads. Hair might be a different texture too. That’s fascinating.”

“Well, it was nice to meet you but I think maybe we should get going.” Nino tightened his hold on Marinette.

“Wait! He knows dimension stuff.” She spun to look at him. “He knows about Adrien.” She returned her attention to Felix. “Do you know about Alya?”

“Could kick my ass in a second? Yes, I know an Alya,” he said wryly.

Nino paled. “You could get us home?”

Felix held up a hand. “I never said that. I don’t even know where you’re from and frankly, if you can stay here, I would. I’ve been other places; this one is the second best and you wouldn’t survive in the first best. I almost didn’t.” He chewed on his lip. “But if you would like to come to my home, I can share what I know.”

Marinette looked between the bookshop keeper and her husband, noting Nino’s closed off expression. “I think we need to maybe talk about it first.”

“Understandable. I can give you my phone number if you would like.”

Marinette added his contact in her phone and they said goodbye. Once they were outside, Nino shuddered dramatically. “Didn’t that guy freak you out?”

“He was a little odd, but to be honest, I probably didn’t give him a great impression either. He knows another Marinette!” She looked past him to see the darkened storefront of the flower shop. “Dang it, they must’ve closed while I was inside the bookstore.”

Nino linked their hands and started leading her back to the bus station. “Wait, what do you mean another Marinette?”

“Apparently there are Marinettes in other dimensions? I was kinda freaking out but I think he said the Marinette he knew has been married for years and had a baby on the way the last time he saw her?” She scrunched her nose. “It makes my head hurt just trying to think about it. I mean, I’m me, right? How can there be others?” She kept her eyes steadily on what was ahead of them. “I think he knew Adrien too. At least, an Adrien. He asked if he was with me, which makes me think the Marinette he knows much be with him. I mean, that makes sense, right?”

Nino was quiet for a minute. “Are you okay?”

They made their way onto the waiting bus and found seats towards the back. Marinette took Nino’s hand once more. “I think I am,” she finally answered. “I mean, it kind of freaks me out that there could be another Marinette and Nino running around—“

“And another Adrien and Alya,” he filled in with a knowing nod.

“Yeah.”

He looked down at their joined hands, thumb pressing against the small diamond ring she wore. “Does that change anything for you?”

She met his eyes then. “Not with us. It would…I think meeting any Adrien and Alya, ours or not, would be really hard, but what we’ve made here is real. That’s not going to change.”

He brought their linked hands up to his lips for a kiss. “You’re amazing, you know that, right?”

“I think you’ve told me that once or twice,” she replied with a teasing smile. “So what do you think?”

“About?”

“Maybe talking to Felix and finding out if it’s possible to go home.”

“I’m not sure. Can I have some time to think about it?”

“We’re only here for the week.”

“I’m just asking for the night.”

She nodded. “I can do that.”

He squeezed her hand. “Thank you.”  
__________________________

**Original Dimension**

“You changed your hair.”

Alya tugged on her shorter locks with a slight frown. “Yeah, I just went in to get fresh color and got talked into a cut. I can’t decide how I feel about it yet.”

Adrien smiled. “I think it looks really nice.”

“Yeah?”

“Mmhmm. Did they really try to talk you into a cut though? That doesn’t sound like good practice.”

She sighed and dropped to the couch. “That may be an oversimplification. I went in wanting the cut and then started to get cold feet.”

“Ah.”

She ran her fingers through her hair. “I just wanted to look good for tonight. Is that dumb?”

“I got a facial this morning and shaved,” he shrugged.

“You shaved? But…” Her eyebrow quirked. “You know what? I don’t want to know.”

He grinned. “Hey, there was some scruff on my face.”

“But that’s not what you meant, Sunshine, and don’t try to act like it is.”

Adrien laughed. “I’m excited about seeing her again. I know it’s been a couple of weeks but it feels like years.”

“This is going to work, right?” Alya asked, voice uncertain. “We’re going to get them back?”

His lingering smile melted away and he gave her a solemn nod. “We’re going to get them back.”  
__________________________

**Bausave Dimension**

“I think we should stay on our honeymoon forever,” Nino growled into Marinette’s neck before tickling her sides.

She giggled and squealed and pretended to try to get away from him, kicking the sheet and blanket off the bed so the cool air hit their bare skin. He finally relented and she settled into the crook of his arm with a breathless laugh. “And why is that?”

“Because this is perfect,” he sighed, nuzzling his nose against her cheek. “Being with you here and not thinking about work or real life stuff, it’s just…perfect.”

“I don’t think Lana is going to let us stay here forever.”

“Maybe she won’t notice.”

“If her cabin suddenly has permanent inhabitants and I don’t show back up for work?”

“Mari,” he whined. “Dream with me.”

“Okay, you’re right,” she replied in a placating tone. “We’ll stay here forever.”

“Good.”

They were quiet for a while and Marinette turned on her side to look up at him. “You don’t want to find out if we can go home, do you?”

“I don’t think I do,” he admitted. “I’m happy here now. I’m happy with the life we’ve made. I like my job and I like our new place. We have friends and…” He trailed off with a sigh and reached over the side of the bed to grab the blankets and pull them back over their bodies. “But there’s still the part of me that wants to go back home. I miss my family and our friends and Wayzz. I miss being Carapace and helping people.”

“Are you scared about what happens to us?”

“Terrified, but also a little bit not? I love you and you love me and we made this promise to each other.” He brought her hand up for a kiss, the tip of his nose bumping her ring. “I think I more worry about everyone else.”

“Sometimes I think about them.” Marinette pulled the blanket up over her shoulder. “I wonder where they both are and if they’re with other people now. Sometimes I even think about them being with each other.”

“Really?”

“Sometimes. Other times not so much. It feels weird.”

“I try not to really think about it at all.”

She tilted her face up to smile at him. “That’s where we’re different, I guess. It helps me to picture them happy now, just like we are.”

“We can go talk to Felix,” Nino whispered, holding her close. “If you really want to.”

She snuggled in with a happy hum. “Thank you.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm calling Magic and Might Nino "Other Nino" to avoid confusion, haha :)

**Bausave Dimension**

“So that’s what I would look like with a beard. I was wondering,” Other Nino commented as he rubbed his own smooth jawline. “Maybe I should grow one out.”

Felix sat the salad bowl on the dining room table. “Maybe you should.”

Other Nino raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Only if you want to,” he said, keeping his tone even.

“It sounds like you want me to.”

“It’s handsome.”

“I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

Felix allowed himself a small, pleased smile when Other Nino swatted his backside as he moved back to the kitchen to grab the last dish. 

“Your home is lovely.” Marinette stepped into the dining room after a self-guided tour. She tugged on Nino’s hand, pulling him with her. “Thank you so much for inviting us to dinner.”

“It’s not everyday you get to meet yourself,” Other Nino grinned. “Everything’s ready if you guys want to take a seat.”

Nino sat down across from his doppelganger and shifted uneasily. “Is this not freaking you out as much as it’s freaking me out?”

Other Nino shrugged. “It did the first time. You’re the third Nino I’ve met though. It kinda loses a bit of that nervous edge, I guess.”

“The second one was an asshole,” Felix added. “The first one was an idiot.”

“Here’s hoping I get a better review,” Nino chuckled anxiously.

“Don’t worry,” Other Nino grinned. “He really likes your beard.”  
__________________________

“Traveling dimensions isn’t easy,” Felix explained. “First of all, you rarely have control over where you’re going. We had to skip around a good bit before we landed here.”

Marinette took a sip of her after-dinner coffee. “Were you trying to get here specifically?”

Other Nino and Felix shared a look and Felix nodded. “We’re from different dimensions to begin with. A spell ended up switching me and his Adrien for a time and things transpired between us.”

“He means he fell head over heels in love with me,” Other Nino clarified.

Felix scoffed. “If that’s what you want to call it, I suppose.”

“You spent five years trying to get back to me.”

“You’re a good lay.”

Other Nino snorted. “Obviously, but you’re still in love with me.”

Felix rolled his eyes but his cheeks had taken on a pink tint that hadn’t been there before. “Anyway, I went back to my dimension so his Adrien could come back to his dimension.”

“And when he says ‘my Adrien’, he means ‘my best friend Adrien’, not boyfriend, just to be clear. My Adrien is…” Other Nino’s face softened. “Well, my Adrien is with my Marinette. They’re married and she was pregnant when we left. They’re really happy together.”

Marinette felt an echo of sadness and she linked her fingers with Nino’s. He gave her a quick, grateful look and squeezed her hand gently. “So how did you find each other again?”

“Felix is a stubborn ass.”

“I think you meant to say that I’m highly intelligent and motivated.”

Other Nino pursed his lips. “I stand by my statement.”

“You would.” Felix returned his attention to Marinette and Nino. “I went through hell and back and finally found all the ingredients and the right spell and a magic user to do the spell that would take me back to him. It took five years and a lot of miscalculations and hopping into the wrong dimension.” A sad heaviness settled over him. “It took its toll on my body.”

Nino watched as the other version of him reached over to grab Felix’s hand in a similar manner of the way Marinette had with him only moments before. It was odd seeing himself as another person. It didn’t feel quite real. He knew the man across from him looked like him in a way, but it was like looking at an old photograph he didn’t remember seeing before. He knew it was him, but it also wasn’t him. 

“Our bodies are meant to exist in only our original dimensions. If they stay somewhere else too long, they start to shut down,” Other Nino explained. “There are a few rare pocket dimensions like this one that have some kind of magical balance that allows people from different dimensions to exist in one place without declining at a rapid rate.”

“To be fair though, we might still be experiencing those side effects,” Felix pointed out. “It’s just so delayed here that you could live out an entire lifetime without realizing. We kept hearing rumors about Bausave so we just followed every lead until we got here. A place like this is the only place we could be together.”

“There’s also the time problem.”

Nino blinked in surprise. “Time problem?”

“All dimensions run on their own timeline. Some match up pretty well as far as measurements,” Felix said. “For example, in my original dimension, one year was only one month in Nino’s original dimension. But then there are some that aren’t so easy to calculate; they’re just different.”

Other Nino nodded. “We’ve been gone from my dimension a little over a year now, about fourteen months the best we can estimate, but we have no idea how long it has been for them since we’ve been gone. It could be days, months, years.” He looked down at their joined hands. “It could be around the same time frame or their children’s children’s children could be well into the prime of their lives.”

“And you can’t go back to see,” Nino murmured softly.

“Not really. And even if we could, I’m not sure it would be worth going back to find everyone we knew and loved has been dead and gone for decades.”

“So you’re saying that even if we can open a portal, it’s next to impossible to get the right one?” Marinette asked, a hint of sadness in her voice. “And even if we do, the time could be so wonky that no one we know would even exist anymore?”

“The odds aren’t great,” Felix admitted. “As someone who got very close to death to get here, I can tell you that for sure.”

Other Nino shuddered and moved closer to Felix before he gave the couple across from them a steady look. “It’s not worth it. You two have each other and from what it sounds like, you’ve made a nice life together.”

“We have,” Nino answered quietly, giving Marinette’s hand another squeeze.

“We know it’s hard. There are so many people we miss and so many things we’re missing out on. It kills me that I don’t know Adrien’s kid,” Other Nino said. “All he ever wanted was to be a good dad and I’m not getting to see that happen for him even though I know he’s going to be the best. But as much as that hurts, I wouldn’t trade this life I get to have with Felix.” 

“Yeah,” Marinette said as she met Nino’s eyes, “I know exactly what you mean.”  
__________________________

Marinette collapsed on top of Nino with a breathless giggle. “Well, that’s one way to end a very interesting night.”

He held her to his chest as he caught his own breath. “I’ll say.” He kissed the top of her head. “Good last night of our honeymoon?”

“Absolutely.” She slid more to the side of him and snuggled under his arm, humming happily in her afterglow. “Thank you for going to dinner.”

“I’m glad we went. I think it was good for both of us to hear.”

“It was,” she agreed. “And seeing another you was definitely interesting.”

“Was it as weird for you as it was for me?”

“I don’t know if it was as weird but it definitely gave me,” Marinette paused and tilted her head back so she could look at him as she curled her tongue behind her teeth, “ideas.”

“Ideas?” he echoed with the edge of a smirk. 

“Two Nino’s is a lot to think on,” she nodded, her voice taking on a sing-song edge. “Lots of possibilities, that’s all.”

“Are you going to share those thoughts, my lovely and faithful wife?”

Marinette snorted. “I think I’ll keep them to myself.”

He hummed deep in his throat and somehow gave it a skeptical tone.

“You’re my favorite Nino,” she giggled, settling more against him. “The only one I want.”

“I’m not sure I believe that last part but I’ll take it anyway.”

“Good.”

“I love you, Marinette.”

“I love you too.”  
__________________________

**Original Dimension**

“Are you guys sure you did this right?” Chloe pinched her nose. “This stuff reeks.”

“It says it’s supposed to have a sulfur smell so I think we’re right on track,” Alya winced, reading over the instructions even though she had them memorized. “It has to simmer for three hours and then we can add the rest of the stuff.”

“Do we have to stay here for the three hours because I love you guys but damn.”

“Some of the ingredients need to be as fresh as possible so we’re going to head to the herbalist now,” Adrien replied, grabbing his coat. “You want to come with?”

“If it means getting out of this stink hut, absolutely.” Chloe opened her purse for Pollen to zip into and the trio left the concoction on the stove. “Is Fu coming over later to help?”

Adrien and Alya exchanged looks as the rode the elevator down to the building lobby. “We didn’t tell him we’re doing it tonight.”

“Why?”

“Because he would’ve tried to stop us,” Adrien ground out, shoving his hands in his pockets. 

“He gave us a few false leads,” Alya explained. “He was never going to help us open the portal.”

“Why would he do that?!”

“Because it’s dangerous,” Plagg sighed, poking his head out from the pocket of Adrien coat just enough to look at them. “It’s dangerous in a universe wall-collapsing kind of way if you don’t know what you’re doing and he was hoping you would get discouraged and accept the reality we’re facing.”

“But we do know what we’re doing. We’ve studied it and gotten all the right ingredients and—“

“You’ve studied it for a few weeks in a rush of adrenaline and desperation,” the kwami argued. “But I know you’re going to do it no matter what.” He disappeared deeper in the pocket once more. “But I want Tikki back so I’m not going to try to stop you,” he muttered so quietly that Adrien wasn’t sure the others heard him.

He dipped his hand in his pocket and gave the kwami a reassuring pat. “It will work.”

“Trixx has given me the same talk but she’s been helping me make sure everything is right too.”

Chloe frowned. “Don’t we need the Miraculous for part of it to find them?”

“Already taken care of,” Adrien replied smugly. “I slipped in and took them last night.”

“You stole the Miraculous?! I don’t know if I’m disappointed or impressed, Adrikins.”

“More impressed than disappointed though, right?”

“Obviously.”

Alya laughed and opened the door to the small herbal shop and held it open for them. “Well, at least we know if the whole superhero or modeling thing doesn’t work out, you have something to fall back on.”  
__________________________

**Bausave Dimension**

Marinette stared at the line of five white sticks on the hallway bathroom counter. She’d accepted the reality that she was pregnant at least an hour ago but her mind still didn’t seem to want to make the full connection.

Two of the most recent pregnancy tests she’d taken had digital windows that read “pregnant, seven weeks”. 

Seven weeks.

She’d been pregnant for seven weeks.

When her expected period didn’t come two weeks before, she’d taken a test just to be sure but it’d been negative. A false negative apparently.

She wracked her brain, trying to think back. They hadn’t been married all that long, a little over six months now, and they were usually pretty careful with birth control. There had been a few times neither of them wanted to bother with getting to a condom though. They’d known this was a possibility. It had crept up in conversations here and there but the thought was always followed by the idea that it was sometime in the far future, not suddenly on a Tuesday morning that Marinette had frequented the convenience store down the street for enough drinks and tests to be informed that she was absolutely pregnant.

She pressed the palm of her hand to her stomach. She was pregnant. She was pregnant with Nino’s baby.

“Hey, sweetheart? Have you seen that shorter razor head I picked up? I was trying to shave but this one just isn’t…” Nino trailed off as soon as he saw her reflection in the bathroom mirror. “What’s wrong?”

“Not wrong, good.”

He frowned. “Good?”

Marinette pointed to the line of tests neatly arranged on the counter. Nino stared at them for a few long seconds.

“Are those…” He looked up at her with a shocked smile. “Wait, are you…”

She gave him a lopsided smile and felt happy tears filling her eyes. “You wanna have a baby?”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is. THE CHAPTER. The one that started this entire AU. Eek!

**Bausave Dimension**

“Hey, sweetheart? What are you feeling for dinner? Is meat still making you sick because if not, I could really go for a burger or something.”

When there was no answer, Nino pushed himself away from his desk and groaned as he stretched. It wasn’t fun to realize it was getting harder to stay seated in front of his mixing table for long bouts of time but he wasn’t as young as he used to be. He needed to remember to get up and move more so he didn’t get so stiff.

His joints popped as he made his way down the hall. “Marinette?” He frowned when she wasn’t in their bedroom or the living room and kitchen area. He went back down the hall and peeked into the nursery but it was as empty as the other rooms. The telltale sound of rain hitting the windows finally wormed its way into his subconscious and he went to the balcony and looked down into the courtyard. 

On the third bench from the entrance, a blue and red umbrella covered everything but a pair of legs and a set of most likely very soggy pink slippers. He smiled, shaking his head as he went back into the apartment, and grabbed his coat off the hook to pull on. 

His wife had reached her third trimester and with it had come a deep sense of melancholy. Nino tried to help as much as he could but Marinette had always had a harder time of accepting that they weren’t going home than he did. With the baby coming so soon, those feelings had seemingly reappeared and she was more homesick than ever.

One of the things she took comfort in was the rain. Every time it rained, Nino could be sure that she would be outside with her umbrella. She said it smelled the same as it did back home and while Nino couldn’t remember what the rain smelled like, he never argued. He would just kiss her head and usher her back inside to get warmed up.

He made it down to the lobby and nodded to Curtis the doorman as he stepped off the elevator. “How long has she been out here? I never heard her leave the apartment.”

“Only ten or so minutes, sir. I warned her it would be getting cold soon. I was going to ring you if she didn’t come back in the next five.”

“Thanks. I should’ve known as soon as I heard it hitting the windows. She loves her rain,” Nino smiled as he pushed the door open. “What’s it smell like today?” he asked, striding across the courtyard.

Marinette lifted the umbrella enough to see him and blinded him with a radiant smile of her own. “I think I smell strawberries. Isn’t that strange?”

“Yes,” he teased, sitting down beside her on the wet bench and inwardly sighing as the fabric of his pants began to soak up rainwater. 

Marinette tilted the umbrella to help cover his head. “They don’t even have strawberries here that I’ve found, but I swear I can smell them. It’s not actual strawberries though…more like the way strawberry shampoo smells. Does that make sense?”

“Like the kind Alya used to wear,” he replied quietly.

Marinette’s eyes lit up and she nodded. “Yeah! She did, didn’t she?” The bright look clouded over and she dropped her gaze to her hands gripping the umbrella handle.

“We need to get you back inside. It’s cold out and if you get sick, you can’t really take a lot of medicine right now.”

“I’m not quite ready yet.” She linked their arms and let the umbrella handle stand between them as she rested her head on his shoulder. “I think we’re having a boy.”

Nino smiled, glancing at the bulging belly poking out from her jacket. “Is that so?”

“Mmhmm. I was trying to decide on the name.”

“I thought we were going to use Adrien Thomas if we have a boy.”

“I know. I just…” She trailed off and Nino watched her expression shift and he knew she was somewhere else now, somewhere in the past and seeing ghosts. He joined their hands and waited for her to come back to him. She always did eventually. He took the opportunity to study her profile. The lobes of her ears looked redder than usual today but that could just be from the cold. The pregnancy had filled in her cheeks and Nino realized she’d begun to favor Sabine more over the years. He watched her free hand go to her belly in a slow rubbing motion. 

He inhaled deeply and startled a bit in surprise. He smelled strawberries too. Maybe strawberries did exist in this dimension and they’d just never come across them until now. He’d have to look into it. It might make a nice surprise for his wife. She loved discovering things they were familiar with.

“I can’t stop thinking of them today,” Marinette finally said, voice soft. “About what they might be doing now.” She shook her head and looked up at her husband with glassy eyes. “You think they’re okay, right?”

Nino fought not to rub at the raised scar around his right wrist where his Miraculous had been before he and Marinette fell through the akuma’s portal seven years before. “Alya and Adrien were the toughest people we know, right? And can you imagine anyone making Chloe do something she didn’t want to? They kicked that akuma’s ass and took down Hawk Moth and now they’re living wonderful lives.”

Marinette nodded, looking down at their joined hands. “Without us.”

“Sweetheart…”

She sniffled. “I’m sorry. It hit me hard today. I think it’s just pregnancy hormones.” She tugged on him as she stood and held the umbrella just above his head. “My shoes are all squishy.”

“That’s because you aren’t supposed to wear slippers in the rain.” 

“None of my shoes fit anymore,” she pouted. “My feet are all fat now.”

He kissed her nose. “How about we go upstairs and get warmed up? Maybe we can find something to watch the rest of the night and order in dinner.”

“That sounds good,” she nodded. “I’m sorry–”

“Nothing to be sorry about, love.”

She held her belly as they walked. “I think it’s just hitting me the closer we get. Our son isn’t going to know them. He’s not going to know his grandparents or where we come from or anything. He’s only going to know this place.” She glanced around the courtyard. “And I know it feels close to home, but then something happens and I remember.”

“Like strawberries,” he said quietly.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “It’s little things like that.” They crossed the courtyard, both smiling at Curtis as he let them back in. They stepped onto the elevator and watched the doors slide shut. “It’s just close enough to home to be unnerving sometimes. You would think I’d be used to it by now but ever since I got pregnant, everything feels harder. I shouldn’t complain. We could’ve ended up somewhere way worse.”

Nino pulled her to him as they rode the elevator up to their apartment. “I think you’ve earned the right to complain a little, sweetheart.”

“I just miss them.”

“I know. I do too.”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you earlier but Felix and Nino are coming into town and wanted to grab dinner with us while they’re here. I think around Tuesday or Wednesday is what Felix said.”

“That sounds good. I can put in to get off early. It’ll be good to see them again.”

“I think so too.”  
____________________________

**Original Dimension**

“Okay.” Alya took in a deep breath and read over the directions for the spell for the hundredth time. “I think we’re ready.”

Adrien almost vibrated in place as he stood on the other side of the potion. “What’s the next thing we need to do?”

“We pour the potion into that bowl,” she pointed to a large stainless steel bowl at the end of the table. “And then we each have to cut ourselves and share five drops of blood.”

“What kind of dark magic shit,” Chloe murmured. “Me too?”

“It would help.”

“Fine but they better be grateful.” She shook herself. “I hate bleeding.”

“And then what?” Adrien asked impatiently, looking between the potion and the bowl.

“And then we recite the words on these pages.” Alya carefully separated a stack of papers and passed a sheet to him and then to Chloe. “We just have to sound out the words. I think it’s okay if our pronunciation isn’t exact.” She froze. “Wait! I’m almost forgetting the Miraculous. Without an anchor to latch onto, we could open a portal to anywhere. These should tie back to Nino and Marinette and take us to them.”

Chloe shifted uncomfortably. “Do you want to go over this all a few more times before we start?”

“There’s no time. We have to do this now or everything’s a waste.” Alya brought out the bracelet and earrings and handed Adrien the Ladybug Miraculous. “Whatever you do, don’t let go of them, okay? We should have about a twenty-four hour window to find them once we get through but we have to be careful. We don’t want to get stuck too.” She pulled out her phone and readied her timer.

He gave her a quick, serious nod. “We’ve been over all this, Al. We can do it. Ready?”

“I think I have to be. Let’s transform and begin.”  
__________________________

**Bausave Dimension**

Nino left Marinette sleeping on the couch, the credits of the movie they had been watching rolling across the screen. The scent of strawberries was still lingering in his nose and he went back out to the balcony in the hope that some fresh air would clear his head. It had stopped raining but the temperature had dropped significantly and he shivered. It might be a good night to start a fire to keep the apartment a little warmer. 

He turned to go back inside when the scent of strawberries flooded his nose once again and a flash of light caught his eye. He swore as the light burned his eyes and he glared against it, trying to make out the cause. He blinked back and saw spots as the glaring brightness finally lessened. His heart leapt into his throat as he looked down into the courtyard and saw three familiar figures.

Rena Rouge, Chat Noir, and Queen Bee had finally come for them. 

Seven years after they’d fallen through the portal in the first place.

Nino couldn’t seem to move from his spot on the balcony as he watched them look around the courtyard in confusion. He used to imagine the reunion they would all have but now that they were here, he had no idea how to react. “I…”

“Is something wrong?” Marinette yawned and sat up on the couch. She rubbed at her eyes and blinked blearily at him. “Is it still raining?”

He couldn’t find his voice. He tore his eyes away from the trio to look at his very pregnant wife with a shocked expression.

She frowned and pushed herself off the couch with a grunt to slowly make her way to the balcony. He immediately took her hand and gripped it hard. She looked at him in confusion before she turned her attention to the courtyard and gasped. She swayed slightly and Nino moved behind her to steady her. He walked them closer to the railing. 

“We have to get their attention…” Her voice caught on another gasp as Chat Noir’s head whipped around and their eyes locked.

His face split into a fierce grin and then he was racing across the courtyard towards the building. Rena Rouge and Queen Bee followed after him instinctively and all three were scaling the building within seconds. Nino moved Marinette back and then three superheroes were suddenly standing on their balcony and staring at them in shock.

“Hi,” Nino waved weakly. “Long time, no see.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. Writing this chapter murdered me and I'm just a ghost of Season now.

Bausave Dimension

“Are you…” Chat Noir swallowed hard and gestured to Marinette’s bulging belly.

“I’m…I’m a horrible person!” she wailed and pulled away from Nino to disappear back into their apartment. He watched her go with wide eyes but felt frozen in his spot. He turned back to look at the heroes who’d come to rescue them.

“How…” Nino cleared his throat and started again. “How are you guys here?”

Rena Rouge looked like all the breath had been knocked out of her and her voice was strained when she answered. “We found a spell that would take us to the last holders.” She opened her palm to reveal the Turtle Miraculous and shakily offered it to him.

“Maybe we could come inside?” Queen Bee suggested. “And figure out what the hell is going on because you got old in a hot way and I’m not sure what to do with that. I’ve never been one for facial hair before.”

Nino seemed to rouse himself and led the way back into the apartment. “Make yourselves at home,” he called over his shoulder. “I need to make sure Mari is okay.”

The trio tentatively stepped into the living room as Nino disappeared down a hallway. “I don’t understand…” Rena Rouge murmured. “This can’t be them. Maybe…maybe they are this dimension’s version of Nino and Marinette and the Miraculous got confused. Maybe I got the spell wrong.”

“Except they know exactly who we are.” Queen Bee dropped her transformation and walked to a wall of pictures. “I’m beginning to think that whole time difference thing Fu warned us about happened.” She pointed to a picture in the left corner. “That looks like our Marinette and Nino but look at all these others.”

Alya joined her with Trixx riding her shoulder. There were pictures of Marinette and Nino as they knew them, smiles not quite meeting their eyes, but as the pictures progressed, the smiles became brighter and more genuine. Some pictures had other people in them, some pictures were just them, some pictures were of two cats curled around each other. “Holy…” Alya stopped in front of a picture of the couple standing with a blonde man and what appeared to be Nino’s twin. “What is going on? None of this makes sense.”

“They’ve made a life together.” Adrien’s voice was broken when he finally made it to the wall. “There’s a wedding picture and a…a sonogram.” He reached up to gently touch his fingers to the glass covering the grainy picture. “They’ve been here a long time.”

“No.” Alya shook her head. “No, this isn’t possible. It was only a few weeks. We started working as soon as they disappeared. There’s no way that…” She finally saw Adrien’s stricken expression and it was enough to break her own walls. A sob tore from her throat and she felt herself being walked backwards to the couch.

“Come here, you two,” Chloe instructed as she grabbed Adrien’s hand and led him to sit by Alya. “We’re going to wait here and let them explain.”

“They forgot us,” Adrien whispered. 

“Don’t be an idiot. We have no idea how long they’ve been here.” She crossed her arms as she sat down beside them. “I’m sure…I’m sure it will make sense once we know more.”  
__________________________

“Hey.” Nino rubbed Marinette’s back as she sobbed into her pillow. “Sweetheart, let me see you.”

“Did you see their faces?! I can’t believe we did this to them,” she cried even as she moved to his lap and curled around him as best she could. “Why didn’t we wait?! I knew they were coming!”

Nino tried not to flinch at her words. “It’s been over seven years, Mari.”

She cried for a few more minutes and then sniffled and rubbed at her nose. “Can I have a tissue please?”

He reached for one without comment and offered it to her. She took it and wiped at her nose with a stuttering sigh. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “That was a stupid thing to say.”

“You’re upset. I know that.”

“Still.” Marinette swallowed and pushed herself up to look at him. “What do we do, Nino? I never thought…” She closed her eyes and shook her head as she rubbed her belly. “Not now.”

“I think we need to decide how we feel.”

She frowned and met his eyes. “What?”

“If…if you want to go back to Adrien—“ His words were cut off by two fingers shoved against his lips.

“Stop. Wait, are you saying you want to go back with Alya?”

“No. I mean…” He trailed off and his brow furrowed. “No,” he finally repeated. “You’re my wife and you’re having my child. I love you.” He reluctantly met her eyes. “What about you?”

Marinette dropped her own gaze to look at her clasped hands. “You saved me, Nino. I love you more than anything.”

His shoulders sagged in relief. “I never wanted to have to make this decision,” he admitted. “I thought…it’s just been so long. It didn’t seem possible.”

“This happening when I’m hopped up on pregnancy hormones is just the worst timing. Good grief, that was so dramatic.” She wiped at her eyes as more tears began to fall. “I’m sorry for earlier. I just…I saw their faces and it was like we’d first gotten here all over again and I felt guilty.”

“So what do you want to do?”

“We need to go out there and talk to them,” she decided with a nod. “We still love them even if things have changed.”

“And if there’s a way to go back?”

Her breath caught and she gripped at her stomach. “I…I don’t know yet.”  
__________________________

“So when we heard they were building this place in the field where we originally came through the portal, it seemed like it was meant for us,” Nino explained. “We moved here a little over a year ago.” He rubbed his thumb along the back of Marinette’s hand and she squeezed his fingers with hers.

“We’ve lived a few different places but this has been our favorite,” she added as she looked at their friends grouped together on the couch. “We tried to do that the best we could here.”

Alya cleared her throat and sat forward a little. “So when you came through, you said you didn’t have anything?”

Marinette shook her head. “We weren’t the first to be dropped here so they had a center for us to go to. They got us housing for the first six months and we were able to find jobs while we waited for…” She let that thought die on the air. “After a while, we thought it was apparent that we weren’t going anywhere. None of the other portal jumpers had ever made it out and the one couple we did talk to who has the magic and knowledge to do it said it’s too unstable to try.”

“And we had no way of knowing that time was different,” Nino said quietly. “We thought you guys were as stuck as we were as the years passed.”

A heavy silence fell over them and Chloe leaned forward and gestured to Marinette. “How far along are you?” 

“Eight months,” she smiled as her hand went to her stomach. “We don’t know for sure, but I think it’s a boy.” She met Adrien’s eyes and tried to put everything she was feeling into her expression. “We want to name him Adrien.”

He looked away with half a nod.

Marinette started to get up from the couch and Nino immediately helped her keep her balance as she stood. “Can we go talk alone?” she asked, her attention on Adrien. “Adrien?”

He visibly deflated but got up without a word and followed her down the hall.

Another awkward stretch began and Chloe stood and stretched to break it. “Is there somewhere around here open at this hour? I’m starving.” 

“There’s a convenience store a block away. Just take a left out the front door and you’ll run into it,” Nino answered. “Guy named Garyn should be working. Tell him you’re a guest of mine and he’ll help you with whatever.”

“Great. Money?” She held out her hand and gave him a sweet smile.

He went to the counter and grabbed his wallet, offering her a few bills. “Get whatever you want.”

“I always do.” She squeezed his hand before going out the door.

He finally turned to look at his former girlfriend. “Alya, I—“

She held up a hand. “Please don’t apologize.”

Nino rounded the couch and took his previous seat in the armchair. “I feel like I should, and maybe like I shouldn’t.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,”

“Logically, I know that but…” His shoulders drooped. “I am sorry, even if I don’t have to be.”

“It’s just so hard to believe but all the proof is right here.” Her eyes strayed to the wall of photos again. “You guys must’ve been terrified.”

“It was pretty scary,” he admitted with a nod. “I’m glad if we had to end up anywhere it was here though. There were a lot of people willing to help us get on our feet.”

“When did you give up on us coming back?”

He sighed. “For me, a few months in. It took Mari longer though. We’d talked to everyone that we could at the time that had come through a portal and none of them had ever gotten back out or had someone they knew come for them. I just…I couldn’t keep holding on indefinitely.”

“But a few months? That’s…Nino, that’s nothing in the scheme of things.”

His brow furrowed. “You can’t say that when you weren’t living it, Al. Marinette was the only person I knew here. We had nothing but our clothes when we came through, even our Miraculous and kwamis were gone. We had to rebuild our lives. And day in and day out of being with her…it changed things for me.” He hung his head. “Sorry. That probably sounded…”

“Harsh?” she supplied. “We were living together and all it took was a few months for that to mean nothing to you.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“I love you. You have no idea what I’ve gone through to get here.”

He stiffened and glared at her. “You have no idea what I’ve gone through being here. Neither one of us had it easy in this, okay? It sucks both ways.” He wrung his hands together. “I never stopped loving you, Alya, I just…I started loving Marinette too.”

She released a heavy sigh and moved to the edge of the couch to prop her head in her hands with her elbows on her knees. “I don’t know what to do now. I don’t even know how to feel.”

“Me neither.”

“Are you…do you guys want to stay here?” She grimaced. “We can’t just leave you.”

“I’ll do whatever she wants to. We have the nursery ready and…” He trailed off as he looked down the hall. “Damn it, this is all screwed up.”

“Yeah.” She looked around their apartment. “This is the life I thought we were going to have together.”

“Alya…”

She swallowed loudly and shook her head. “It’s okay. I just…you’ve had a lot longer to process this.” She stood and paced to the kitchen. “I need some time.”

“I get that.”

She ran her hand along the rim of a vase on the counter. “I like your beard. It’s a good look on you. Kinda reminds me of your dad actually.”

He grinned bashfully and rubbed at his chin. “Yeah, I caught my reflection the other day and thought that. Almost shaved it on the spot.”

Alya laughed. “I’m telling him.”

“Please don’t.” His expression turned somber. “How have they been?”

“Worried sick. I told them about you being Carapace, which I think was actually a shock. You apparently hid it well.”

“From everyone but you,” he sighed. “Are they okay though?” 

“Chris has taken it hard but he’s dealing. I’ve checked in on him a few times.”

“Thank you for doing that.”

“I didn’t mind. Goodness, I’m exhausted,” she groaned after a jaw-cracking yawn. “I don’t think I’ve really slept in weeks.”

“It’s pretty late. We don’t really have great accommodations but there’s the couch and—“

“The time?!” She scrambled for her phone. “How much time has passed?” She frowned at the screen. “This isn’t possible…”

“What?”

“It’s barely been five minutes since I started the timer. We’ve been here for hours.”

“Ah, yeah. That happened with my phone before it died and I couldn’t find a way to charge it. The time was way off.”

“The portal will close in a little over twenty-three hours…or, twenty-three hours according to this.” She glanced around. “Is it not affected by the time here? That doesn’t seem right. You obviously aged.”

“Thanks for that,” Nino replied dryly. “I’m not really sure. I just know my phone did the same thing for a while. Maybe if it would’ve caught up to the right time after a while.”

“So we need to be careful,” she nodded and met his eyes. “And you and Marinette have to make a quick decision.”

“Relatively quick,” he reminded her. “We have time here.”

“This is messing with my head.”

“It does that. Let me go grab some blankets and pillows. I think we might have an air mattress in the hall closet from a camping trip a few years ago.” Nino escaped down the hall and paused outside the closed bedroom door. He could hear muffled voices but couldn’t decipher what was being said. He pushed past his curiosity and insecurity and followed through to the hall closet.  
__________________________

“It’s okay if you hate me.” Marinette fidgeted with the sleeve of her sweater. They’d sat in silence for longer than she thought she could take. “I understand if you do.”

“I don’t…I don’t hate you. I could never hate you.” Adrien didn’t look at her as he spoke. He sat in the chair across from the bed and hugged a throw pillow to his chest. “I’m just having a hard time understanding…”

“I know. It’s a lot,” she sighed. “I wrote you so many times. We would…there was this pile of rocks that we set up as kind of a beacon for where we came through before they built this place. Nino and I would write letters to you guys and leave them and pray that somehow they would end up back through the portal but they never did.” She dared a glance at him. “It killed me to say goodbye to you. I would fantasize about the life that I hoped you were having.”

“But how did this happen?” He waved a hand in her general direction. “How…with Nino…”

“All we had was each other,” she whispered, “and we fell in love. Neither of us meant for it to happen but…but it did. We never thought…”

“You never thought I was coming for you,” he finished miserably.

“No.” Her voice was loud and firm. “No, I prayed that you were coming for me. I believed you were for so long but…but then you didn’t.”

“I was trying to.” Adrien’s voice cracked on the last word and he dropped his head to his hands. “I was trying…” he repeated brokenly. “I don’t understand what happened.”

“I can’t move so well these day but can you please come closer? Please?” She reached out to him as tears streaked down her face. “Please, Adrien. Kitty?”

As if the movement hurt him, Adrien pushed himself out of the chair and crawled onto the bed. He collapsed beside her and buried his face in her side. Marinette sank her fingers into his hair with a soft hum. “I’ve missed you so much,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry, Adrien. I’m so, so sorry.”

He curled against her. “Please come home with me.”

“I…I don’t know if I can.”

“We can figure it all out there, just please…” He looked up at her but his gaze caught on her pregnant belly. He took in a stuttering breath and sat up, Marinette’s hands reluctantly falling from his hair. “We can…it could still work.”

“Adrien…”

His face was pale as he stumbled off the bed and to the door. “I need, uh, I need some air, I think.” He wrenched open the door and disappeared without another word.

Marinette stared at the flowers on her bedspread until they blurred with tears and then she was curling up under the blanket and sobbing into her pillow as her baby kicked.


	14. Chapter 14

Bausave Dimension

Nino was sitting on a bench in the courtyard when Adrien finally trudged towards him as the sun began to peek out. His hair and clothes were damp with dew and there were dark rings under his eyes.

“I looked for you for a while, but I thought you would find your way back eventually.” Nino offered one of the to-go cups in a carrier beside him. “Coffee? It might be a little cool now.”

Adrien looked at the coffee and then at Nino but didn’t say a word as he took a seat on the other end of the bench. 

“Okay then, I can talk first.” Nino inhaled deeply and realized he couldn’t smell strawberries anymore. He didn’t know what to do with that. “I never wanted to hurt you, Adrien. You’ve got to know that. No one planned for this to happen.”

The other man clenched his jaw. “He did,” he growled.

“Who?”

“Hawk Moth.” Adrien met his eyes and his were filled with simmering rage. “We’re going to go back and find him and we’re going to make him undo it.”

“Undo it,” Nino echoed. “You want to undo the last seven years of mine and Marinette’s life?”

“He’s the one who caused the portal. He’s the one who stranded you guys here.” He shook his head in agitation. “Maybe…maybe there is a spell that can reverse time the last few weeks you’ve been gone in our dimension. We’ll know to be more careful with that akuma and prevent any of this from ever happening.”

“You’re talking about my wife and my baby. We aren’t undoing anything.”

Adrien stood and faced him. “They aren’t yours! This is supposed to be my life, Nino. I’ve loved Marinette since we were kids and you knew that! You knew that and you still…” He swallowed hard and shook his head. “What about Alya? You just don’t love her anymore, just like that? We shopped for engagement rings together. You can’t just…you can’t just stop.”

Nino looked down at his coffee cup. “I never stopped loving Alya,” he said softly. “But my love for her changed, just like it did for Marinette.”

“That’s not how it works.”

“So you don’t love your mom anymore?”

Adrien reared back as if Nino had dealt him a physical blow. “That’s not the same thing.”

“Yeah, it is. As far as it went, you guys were dead for us. There was no way back to you and we were never going to see you again. I know this is really messed up; I can see that, but you have to realize that none of this was done to hurt you. We were both trying to heal and move on.”

The anger visibly seeped out of Adrien as he slumped back down to the bench. “What do we even do now?” he whispered.

“I don’t know, man.”

“You guys have to come back.”

Nino winced. “Do we? I mean, we have a life here. We have a home and jobs and friends and…” He shook his head. “How do we go back home like this? Where would we live and what if…” He trailed off and his eyes widened. “What if somehow going back through changes us? What if we lose the baby?” He immediately looked up to their balcony and stood. “I need to go make a phone call.”

Adrien watched him go and felt a war takes place inside his mind when he realized he wasn’t sure that was a bad thing.  
__________________________

“Chloe said you were back here.” Alya stood just inside the nursery door but kept her gaze moving around the small room.

“Yeah, I guess I’m being a chicken.” Marinette pulled the blanket in her lap a little higher over her stomach. “Do you hate me?”

“Come on, M.” 

“It’s a real question.”

Alya sighed and sat down on an overstuffed pink ottoman across the room. “I don’t hate you,” she finally replied.

“I’m really sorry.”

“Thank you but…but I don’t think you need to apologize to me.” She gave her half a shrug. “I went snooping through your photo albums and stuff when everyone else was sleeping. I can see the kind of life you’ve had together. And…and I found some of the letters you wrote us.” Her shoulders sagged heavily. “We were always going to be too late.”

“I’m so sorry.” Marinette blinked up at the overhead light, trying to will away her tears. “I’m so tired of crying,” she mumbled. “I feel like it’s all I do lately.”

“Has it been hard?” Alya gestured to her stomach hesitantly.

“It’s normal or whatever, I guess. I’ve just really missed you and this all sucks so bad.” Marinette huffed as a few tears slipped down her cheeks anyway and she quickly brushed them away. “I’ve just thought about how many times we’ve talked about doing this together and going shopping for everything and…and then it was a mix of missing you and feeling like I betrayed you and it’s just a lot now.”

Alya swallowed against the lump in her throat. “You guys have been here a really long time and I understand that.”

“But it still sucks.”

She laughed through a sob and nodded. “It still sucks.”

They both cried for a few moments, trying to stifle the sounds and then Alya was grabbing the ottoman and scooting it over to the rock chair. “This is all so dumb,” she groaned and pressed her cheek against the blanket covering Marinette’s stomach. She felt the other woman stiffen for a second before relaxing on the next exhale. “You’re my best friend and I want to be excited for you.”

“But it’s…”

“Yeah.”

“He’s not moving much right now,” Marinette whispered after a few beats. “But he’s usually pretty active.”

“Are you scared?”

“Terrified but also really excited? I don’t know how to explain it.”

“You’ve always talked about having kids.” Alya cut off her sentence but the ghost “with Adrien” still hung in the air and both women tried their best to ignore it.

“Yeah.”

A bittersweet silence fell over both of them and was only broken when Chloe appeared in the doorway. “Is everything okay?”

“What a loaded question,” Alya drawled, turning her head enough to see her. “I’m waiting on the baby to move.”

Chloe pursed her lips and nodded. “So then things are more good than bad?”

“Do you want to come sit with us?” Marinette pointed to a large throw pillow on the other side of the rocker and Chloe moved through the nursery and sat down beside them.

“Adrien’s back. He’s outside talking to Nino. I saw them from the balcony.”

Marinette worried her bottom lip. “How did they look?”

“Not great,” Chloe winced. “There was some yelling but once Adrien sat back down, I came to check on you guys.”

She covered her face. “This is all so bad.”

“Yeah.” Alya stood and stretched. “I’m going to go to the bathroom. Maybe the baby will be more active when I get back.”

Chloe got up after her and went to the nursery door, glancing out into the hall first and then closing the door before returning to her spot. She went up on her knees and reached for Marinette’s hands. “It’s just us in here right now. What do you want to do?”

Marinette blinked in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Adrien or Nino?”

“Chloe, it’s not…”

“Because you need to decide, Marinette. It’s all going to hinge on you. Alya had me a little worried with the whole frantic vibe she’s been rocking since you guys disappeared but I think she’s kind of started an acceptance phase after those letters. Which, by the way, there weren’t enough of them addressed to me.” Chloe lifted her head and sniffed sullenly.

“Sorry about that.”

“Apology accepted if you name the baby after me.”

“Mmm.”

Chloe gave her half a smile. “Seriously though. What do you want to do?”

Marinette rubbed her belly. “I want…I want Nino. I want our family.” She frowned. “But I also want my family.”

“You want to go home.”

She took a deep breath and nodded. “I wanna go home.”  
__________________________

“Thank you guys for coming. I know it’s earlier than we planned but things have gone a little wonky around here,” Nino explained, pressing the elevator button for his floor. 

Felix eyed his partner as they rode up. He wasn’t sure what to make of his expression. “So who did you say is here again?”

“Alya, Adrien, and Chloe came through the portal to take us home but I’m worried about what that could mean for the baby.”

Other Nino nodded. “Yeah, of course. We’re happy to meet them.”

“They, uh, they aren’t in the best moods right now so that’s going to be, uh…yeah,” Nino finished lamely, stepping off the elevator as the doors opened.

Felix tugged on his Nino’s arm as the other man led the way down the hall. “We go through this every time. You know they aren’t going to be the same.”

“I know that.”

“This is not your Adrien, Alya, and Chloe just like she wasn’t your Marinette.”

“Felix, I know.” Other Nino shook his head, shooting a quick glance down the hall to see his doppelganger looking back at them as he waited by the door. “I just like seeing any version of them, that’s all.”

“That still concerns me.”

“The binding of books concerns you,” Other Nino teased. “I’ll be fine, I promise.”

“Book binding can be savagely botched,” Felix muttered under his breath as they began walking again. “It’s worth being concerned about.”  
__________________________

“Jumping through portals does affect you physically. The more you do it, the more likely it is that your DNA becomes permanently altered,” Felix explained. “There are spells that can protect you but they only last so long and once they wear off, the process catches up and your organs start to systematically shut down on you.” He tried to repress his shudder at the onslaught of memories. “For me, I started getting tired a lot easier. I couldn’t sleep enough and then I lost my appetite.”

Other Nino moved closer and slipped his arm around his partner. Felix gave him a grateful look and continued.

“I lost weight and strength. It got to the point of Nino carrying me from one room to the other because walking had become too hard.” 

Marinette hugged herself, hands clasped around her belly and Nino tightened his hold around her shoulders. They’d heard this story before but it felt freshly potent in their new situation. 

“It took us a lot of misses to find this place,” Other Nino said, picking up the thread of conversation. “I was terrified I was going to lose Felix before we landed here. He just kept worsening the more we moved around and by the time we arrived in Bausave, we both knew he wasn’t going to last another jump.”

“I don’t understand. What’s different about this place?” Alya asked, moving to the edge of the couch.

Felix shook his head. “We’re really not sure. It seems to exist in its own dimensional bubble that doesn’t follow the natural order of things. Within a week, I was already walking on my own again.”

“But you said you can’t go back to Nino’s original dimension,” Marinette said softly. “You can never go back.”

“Felix was never from my dimension,” Other Nino replied. “That’s why he got sick in the first place.”

“If I hadn’t burned so many bridges, I might be able to go back to mine and be fine,” Felix added, “but I wouldn’t have Nino then and I would never do that.”

“Which is also why I don’t go back to mine.”

“Yeah, but Marinette and Nino are from our dimension.” Chloe went to the counter and grabbed one of the opened bottles of wine to top off her glass. “So they should be fine, right?”

Other Nino and Felix exchanged a look. “On paper, yes, but they’ve been here for a while now. We have no way of knowing if being here has changed them enough that it would be bad for them to go back.”

“And you don’t know how it will affect the baby.” Adrien had been quiet for the entire conversation but he finally stirred, getting up to pace behind the couch. “That’s what this is about, isn’t it?”

Nino met his eyes and nodded. “Yeah.” They shared a charged look and then Adrien was pacing again, Plagg keeping up with him while wearing a worried expression.

Alya was thumbing through some of the notes Felix and Other Nino had brought with them. “So on one hand, the baby could be fine because its DNA comes from Marinette and Nino who are from our dimension.”

“Right.”

“But on the other hand, them being here for years could’ve changed something which would also be the case for the baby and coming back home could hurt them all.”

“Also right,” other Nino grimaced.

“So this has all been for nothing.”

“You guys could always stay here.” Felix blinked at all of the eyes suddenly on him. “Or not.”

Alya sighed. “We can’t do that. We have people who count on us back home. And someone has to be able to tell our families and friends what happened.”

“Well, I could do that,” Chloe offered. “I love you guys but I’m not a part of this whole twisted love square thing. If you wanted to stay…”

“We can’t stay,” Adrien interjected. “It wouldn’t work.”

“He’s right,” Marinette agreed. “It wouldn’t be fair to ask that.” 

The group fell quiet and even Adrien stopped his pacing to slump down beside Alya on the couch again.

“What about getting back here?” Nino finally asked, looking at Other Nino and Felix. “If we went home, do you know a way we could get back here if we needed to?”

“There’s a spell but it’s not foolproof.”

Marinette inhaled sharply and struggled to turn more toward her husband. “You want to go home?”

“I know you do and if we’re going to try, this is the time to do it.” He looked back at the two men. “I’m a little worried about the time difference though. Did you guys ever notice anything with that?”

“What do you mean exactly?” Felix asked with a slight frown.

“Time has moved so much faster here than back home apparently,” Nino answered. “I guess I’m just wondering if it’s possible to change us if we go back there.”

“You mean, would we be younger and lose the baby,” Marinette whispered.

“Yeah.”

She swallowed hard and looked across the room to Felix and Other Nino who exchanged helpless glances. “We don’t…we’re not sure. None of this is a perfect science. This is the first place we’ve stayed long enough to really study but everywhere else is an unknown variable.” Other Nino’s shoulder’s slumped. “I’m sorry. I don’t feel like we’re being much help.”

“No, we really appreciate you guys coming.” Nino squeezed Marinette’s arm gently before he stood. “I think we’re going to discuss it and decide in the morning. You got a hotel room in town, right?”

“Yeah, we figured it was easier than making the drive since we weren’t sure how long we were staying,” Other Nino answered as he and Felix stood as well. “Call us tomorrow and let us know what you need from us.”

Nino walked them to the door and down the hall. Marinette watched them go and then turned her attention to the trio on the couch. “What do you guys think?”

“As weird as this all is, I really want you guys home,” Alya admitted. “It isn’t going to be easy and I think it’s going to be really awkward for a while but…” She pinched the bridge of her nose, knocking her glasses askew. “I don’t even how we’re going to explain any of this.”

“Maybe it would be easier on everyone if we stayed here.”

“Please don’t.” Adrien’s voice was quiet. “If you want to come back with us, please come home. I just want you happy.” He finally met her eyes. “I know I’m having a hard time showing it right now but that is really what I want for you, my Lady.”

Marinette’s bottom lip trembled and Chloe cleared her throat. “Alya, maybe you can catch Nino in the hall and you guys can go out for food or something.”

“We just ate dinner an hour or so ago.”

“Maybe ice cream then.” Chloe raised her eyebrows and tried to get her message across telepathically but Alya gave her a blank look in response. She huffed and crossed her arms. “Maybe it would be a good idea for you and Nino to talk and Adrien and Marinette to talk again before anything is decided.”

“Oh, uh, yeah, maybe that would be a good idea.” Alya frowned. “What are you going to do?”

“Have you seen the tub in the master bath? I’m going to steal bubble bath and have myself a well-deserved treat after all this drama.” Chloe nodded to Marinette before going down the hall like she owned the place. 

“It’s probably something we should do,” Marinette agreed. “If you guys want to.”

“I go grab Nino. We’ll be back soon.” Alya closed the door behind her and Marinette took in a deep breath before looking across to Adrien on the couch. 

“Do you want to start or should I?”


End file.
